KOTA: An MP villager suspected to be smuggling cattle from
Rajasthan was allegedly assaulted by cow vigilantes in Baran district early on Thursday before being reported to police, who arrested and booked him for transporting calves in excess of the vehicle's capacity.
Laxminarayan Lodha
, 40, told the police he had purchased three pairs of calves in Baran for farming and was transporting them to a village in Rajgarh district of MP when he was accosted and thrashed by a dozen Gau
Rakshak Dal
members .
Although he was injured in the assault, Lodha has refused to file a complaint against the vigilantes, the police said.
A video clip purportedly showing Lodha being held by the vigilantes and beaten up has since surfaced on social media. He is heard in the video apologising repeatedly and insisting that he is a farmer.
Parmanand Meena,
SHO
of Sarthal police station, said Lodha's arrest was based on a case filed by
Ajay Tyagi
, head of the Gau Rakshak Dal. "Lodha has been booked for transporting cattle in excess of the capacity of the vehicle," the police said .