Karnataka: Four held after Hindutva outfit members attacked for breaking into cattle owner's home

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18 hours ago

Four persons were arrested in Karnataka's Belagavi district on Monday for allegedly assaulting members of a Hindutva group after they reportedly intercepted a vehicle transporting cows and later forcibly entered the home of the cattle's owner, The Indian Express reported.
Belagavi Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled told the newspaper that those who were assaulted were members of the Sri Rama Sene.
'While Sri Rama Sene activists broke the law by barging into a house without permission, some villagers did the same by assaulting them,' Guled said.
The police took cognisance of the case after a video of the incident, which took place last week, was shared on social media, PTI reported. The video purportedly shows five men being tied to a tree and attacked by a group.
The police said that on June 26, members of the Sri Rama Sene stopped a vehicle, alleging that it was transporting cattle for slaughter. They later took the driver to a police station, where he maintained that the cows were being taken for dairy and taming purposes, The Indian Express reported. The cows were later taken to a cattle shelter.
On June 28, members of the outfit allegedly barged into the house of Babasav Ramjan Multani, the cattle owner, after he brought the cows back from the shelter. Only women were reportedly present inside the home at the time.
An unidentified police officer told The Indian Express that the villagers mistook the men for thieves and assaulted them.
However, Sri Rama Sene leader Vithal Gaddi claimed that five of the outfit's members were attacked when they tried to stop the illegal transportation of cattle.
Villagers, meanwhile, have claimed that the assault was unrelated to cattle transport and that the members had allegedly '', PTI reported.