Hoodlums masquerading as “cow protectors” attacked four people carrying meat in a mini-truck in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, leaving three of them hospitalised.

While the victims, all of them Muslim, claimed they were carrying buffalo meat — which isn’t banned — the police said samples were being sent for testing.

Aligarh Rural superintendent of police Amrit Jain told reporters the police had asked residents of the village where the attack took place to “submit a complaint” against
the victims.

He did not say whether any case would be registered against the hoods for the attack, claimed by the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Sena, a little-known satellite of the Bajrang Dal.

Kaushambi district, 500km southeast of Aligarh, had two days earlier witnessed an attack on an animal trader and his two employees, who were ferrying live buffaloes, by extortionists who displayed a BJP flag and signage of a “cow protection” organisation.

Two of the attackers have been arrested on charges of extortion and assault, the Kaushambi police said.

The Aligarh victims’ mini-truck was stopped at Alahdadapur village and they were beaten up. The attackers claimed there was beef in the vehicle.

Jain, the SP, said three of the four victims had been admitted to hospital. He said samples of the meat had been collected for analysis.

“We have asked the villagers to submit a complaint; the police will investigate,” Jain told reporters at the spot as a mob chanted “Jai Shri Ram”.

Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Sena president Kishan Pathak, a local man, said his team had intercepted “butchers and suppliers of prohibited cow meat” and handed them over to the police.

Jain said the police had “rescued” the victims.

The men arrested in Kaushambi were allegedly travelling in an SUV fitted with a hooter and displaying a BJP flag and a nameplate of the district president of the Goraksha Prakoshth, a VHP wing.

“They intercepted my truck near the Mahabali Baba Hanuman Mandir and demanded ₹20,000 to allow us to transport the animals,” Rohit Pal, an animal trader from Naubasta in Kaushambi, told reporters.

Pal said he was taking the buffaloes to the Ajuha Mandi, a cattle market, for sale.

“They thrashed me and my two helpers when I refused to give them any money. They said nobody could go to the cattle market without their permission. They ran away when some people gathered there,” he said.

Sanjay Tiwari, a local police inspector, said: “We have arrested Sangam Pandey and Sunny Maurya aka Sarvesh.”

The police had obtained footage of the incident from a CCTV installed in front of the temple.

Kaushambi City superintendent of police Shivank Singh said one of the three victims was “badly injured”.

Goraksha Prakoshth district president Rupesh Vishwakarma said: “Those arrested don’t belong to our organisation.”

Man beaten to death

A man was allegedly beaten to death with a stick during an altercation between two groups in Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

One person has been arrested in connection with the incident that took place in Bamhori Sar village under the Talbehat police station area on Friday night.