Indian Farmer Killed By Mob Because He Was Suspected Of Eating Beef

A 50-year-old farmer, Mohammad Ikhlaq, who lived in the village of Bisara, India, was beaten to death by a mob of attackers in response to a rumor that Ikhlaq had eaten beef.

In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh where the family lives, as well as much of India, the killing of cows — a sacred animal to India's roughly 80 percent Hindu population — is illegal.

Mohammad Ikhlaq and his family, who are Muslim, were sought out by angry villagers after a slaughtered calf was allegedly discovered not far from a temple, according to NDTV, a major Indian broadcasting network based in New Delhi.

Ikhlaq and his son were dragged from their home by a crowd of roughly 100 people, and beaten with bricks. The elder Ikhlaq died from the attack, while his 22-year-old son is in critical condition. Ikhlaq's wife and mother were also attacked.

Ikhlaq's daughter later explained to police that the family's refrigerator contained only mutton (sheep meat) a gift provided during Eid, the festival marking the end of Ramadan. The meat has been sent to a laboratory for forensic testing.

Police in Uttar Pradesh have begun investigating the death, and Akhilesh Yadav, the chief minister of the region, has promised that those responsible for the attacks "would not be spared."