21 nabbed after mob violence over killing of cow

NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested 21 men after a mob thrashed two Muslims suspected of slaughtering a cow and set fire to some dozen shops, officials and reports said.

The incident was reported yesterday from northern Uttar Pradesh state, where a mob recently murdered a 50-year-old Muslim man for supposedly eating beef – a taboo in the Hindu-majority nation. “A rumour spread (on Friday) that a cow has been slaughtered, after which some people beat up the men and resorted to arson,” Chandrapal Singh, a senior administrative officer of Mainpuri district, said.