A video has emerged revealing the brutality of the incident and it is unclear who was behind the footage. In the recording, the men, with injuries on the bodies, were seen sitting on the road presumably after gulping the cow dung and cow urine along with a bottle of water.
The cow vigilantes chased the duo for about 7 kilometers in their vehicle before catching them transporting up to 700 kilograms of beef. The mob was seen shouting slogans like "Gau Mata Ki Jai" — hail the mother cow — in the video. The one-minute video abruptly ends with the pair vomiting on the side of the road.
The suspects were then turned over to the police, who are currently holding the duo in custody on suspicion of illegally transporting the cow meat.
If you have a beef ban,ensure law and order maintained to prevent vigilantism. @mlkhattar what are you doing? https://t.co/LlRZm2sT52
— Rupa Subramanya (@rupasubramanya) 28 June 2016
"We arrested a driver and a helper, both of whom are now in judicial custody. The meat in their car was confirmed to be beef," Faridabad police spokesperson Sube Singh was quoted as saying.
The latest incident comes on the heels of the troubles faced by Chinese nationals for possessing 65 kgs of meat in the northern Indian state of Madhya Pradesh — a state where beef is prohibited.
The banning of the consumption of beef has caused a stampede of controversy in India for the past two years, ever since the right-wing administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. Several states have outlawed beef, stoking a sharp political divide across the country over the matter. In September 2015, an elderly Muslim man was lynched by mob in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh for possessing beef in his house, sending shockwaves across the nation. The latest incident is only likely to add more fuel to the fire.
