Surat, Jun 13 (NIE): Suspected cow vigilantes beat up a youth who was transporting calves in his van near Ishroli village in Surat district on Tuesday. Muhib Abubakar, a resident of Mota Taiwan in Valsad town, was on his way from Mahuva taluka with six calves in his van. He was intercepted by four youths in a car near a petrol pump on Mahuva Bardoli road, according to the police complaint. Seeing the four alight from the car with wooden sticks, Abubakar tried to escape but got beaten up, the police said. He managed to escape into a sugarcane field. He then reached Surat in an auto-rickshaw and got admitted in the New Civil Hospital.

The hospital informed Bardoli police station, after which the police recorded Abubakar’s statements and lodged a complaint against cow vigilantes under IPC sections 323, 324 and 114. The police recovered Abubakar’s van near the petrol pump in Ishroli, but the calves were missing.

Bardoli police sub-inspector B K Patel said, “We have registered an offence against four cow vigilantes. Abubakar is out of danger but he had multiple injuries on his head and hands. We could not get more details as Abubakar could not speak properly. We are locating the accused and they will be arrested soon.”