New Delhi: A video has emerged showing a group of Hindutva extremists forcing two Muslims youths to eat cow dung and drink cow urine for allegedly transporting beef over a fortnight ago.

Gurgaon Gau Rakshak Dal, an extremist group, infamous for spreading communal hatred in BJP-ruled Haryana and neighbouring states, has openly claimed responsibility for this heinous act. However, the police have arrested the victims instead of the members of the extremist group.

Admitting that they had forced the two men — Rizwan and Mukhtiar — to eat “panchgavya” (concoction of cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd and ghee), Dharmendra Yadav, president of the Dal, said: “We taught them a lesson and purified them too.”

Yadav claimed that on June 10 activists of his group, acting on a tip-off, intercepted a vehicle transporting “700 kg of beef from Mewat to Delhi” on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway. He said that his group chased the car for 7 kilometres before stopping it near the Badarpur border.

In the video, the two men can be seen sitting on the road, with the ‘panchgavya’ before them, attempting to wash it down their throats with water. Meanwhile, the miscreants are seen threatening and forcing the duo to consume the concoction. They are also forced to chant ‘Gau Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as they swallow the mixture.

Towards the end of the 57-second video, the men begin to throw up on the roadside. The video comes to an abrupt end when a man is heard saying “turn off the video”.

However, Yadav claimed that he did not know who had shot the video. The Gau Raksha Dal reportedly handed over the two men to the police following the incident.

Anil Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Sarai Khwaja police station, said that the two men (the victims) had been arrested on June 10. He said the meat in the car was confirmed to be beef.

Faridabad police PRO Sube Singh said that the Gau Raksha Dal had caught two men transporting 300 kg beef in an Accent car bearing a Delhi registration number. He said the case had been handed over to the Faridabad police because of the jurisdiction of crime. The duo have been booked under the Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act. Later, they were sent to judicial custody.

The beef has been destroyed, said the PRO. However, he claimed the police had no knowledge of any video that had been shot forcing the duo to eat cow dung.

The Gau Raksha Dal is infamous for its attacks on trucks and other vehicles in Haryana and Punjab allegedly carrying or transporting beef. The Dal has posted videos online proudly showing off its attacks. In a typical video, those driving the trucks are dragged out and brutally beaten even as the police watch helplessly.

(Agencies)

Felicitated to the Honorable minister primary & secondary education minorities and wakf. Mr. Tanveer Sait by Mr. Mir Jabir Ali Member :Hazrath Tipu Sultan Shaheed Wakf Estate.

Bengaluru: An affectionate peck on his cheek by a local body woman member left Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visibly embarrassed on Sunday.

Standing next to the chief minister for a group photo at a felicitation function in the Bangalore Palace grounds here, Tarikere taluka panchayat member Girija Srinivas suddenly leapt and kissed the 68-year-old leader, taking him and others by surprise.

“As I got excited standing next to him for a photo, I felt like kissing him out of joy and did so without hesitation, as he is like a father (appaji) for us,” Girjia told reporters when asked about her act, which made even Siddaramaiah blush and wipe his cheek.

Girija was one of the newly-elected zilla and taluka panchayat members whom the chief minister felicitated at the function, organised by the Karnataka Pradesha Kurubara Sangha.

Though Girija belongs to the Kuruba (shepherd) community like Siddaramaiah and hails from Varuna hamlet in Mysuru district, she is a member of the Amruthapura local body in Chikkamagluru district in Malnad region, 250 km from here.

Siddaramaiah represents the Varuna assembly segment, about 170km from Bengaluru.

Clarifying that her act was not pre-meditated but spontaneous, Girija said she was proud of Siddaramaiah, who was a lion of the community and did so much for it.

“I and my family have known him (Siddaramaiah) since my teenage years as I am originally from Varuna but settled in Chikkamagaluru district after marriage,” she said.

Asked about the kiss, a blushing Siddaramaiah said he had known Girija for long and she was like his daughter.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: Former Delhi chief minister and Congress stalwart Sheila Dikshit has reportedly turned down the offer to become the chief ministerial candidate of the grand old party in the high voltage 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

According to a NDTV report, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who has been roped by the Congress to boost its fortunes in the Hindi heartland ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, wanted a Brahmin face to be projected as the face of the party.

The speculations about Dikshit being appointed as the CM candidate emerged after the Congress stalwart met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi on July 16.

The chorus for bringing Priyanka Gandhi into active politics to revive Congress’ fortunes in Uttar Pradesh has also been increasing these days.

Recently reports had claimed that around 600 block presidents of the grand old party had urged master strategist Prashant Kishor to bring Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daughter into the political arena.

Congress, which once used to win almost all the seats in the cow belt state, has been performing very poorly in the last two decades.

Notably, the BJP had won on 71 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014. Congress won two, Samajwadi Party five and Mayawati’s Bhaujan Samaj Party wasn’t able to open its account.

Key players in the state – Bharatiya Janata Party led by PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, Samajwadi Party led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati – are personality driven and have their strong vote bases. Meanwhile, Congress, which has been out of power in the state for nearly three decades, suffers from a leadership crisis.

(Agencies)

Chennai: A 24-year-old woman employee of an IT firm was today found murdered at a city railway station. S Swathi, employed with software giant Infosys, was found dead with cut injuries on her face and neck around 6.30 am on a platform in Nungambakkam railway station, police said.

The incident is believed to have taken place when Swathi, a resident of Choolaimedu near the station, was waiting to board a suburban train to reach her office as per her routine, they said.

It caused a flutter in the neighbourhood and the station, which usually gets busy around 7 am.

The body had been retrieved and sent for postmortem, police said, adding various angles were being probed to find out the assailant and also ascertain the motive behind the killing.

Infosys described the incident as “unfortunate” and said it was cooperating with investigating officials.

“We are saddened by the unfortunate incident that has led to the demise of our employee in Chennai. We are working with the local authorities as they investigate the matter and will continue to provide our co-operation and support,” it said in a statement.

“Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with the family of the deceased. Infosys will provide all the necessary support to the family in their hour of grief,” it further said.

The victim was employed with Infosys’ branch at Mahindra World City at Singaperumalkoil on the city outskirts.

(PTI)