Police say Uttarakhand 'cow smuggler' drowned; family allege feet tied and thrown in pond: Report

A 22-year-old man called Wasim, who was allegedly a cow smuggler, was running from a team of Uttarakhand police officials when he apparently fell into a pond and drowned, authorities have claimed, as per a report by Indian Express.

However, Wasim's family has contradicted the claims and said that officials had attacked and assaulted him before throwing him into a pond. The police have denied these claims.

Allauddin, a cousin of Wasim, lodged a written complaint regarding the incident, in which he said that the latter was returning one night from his sister's home in Madhopur when he was stopped by the police and attacked.

“While beating him, they threw him in a pond nearby and did not let him come out. Hearing the noise, several villagers reached the spot and tried to save Wasim, but the policemen threatened them to leave or they would shoot him. During the aforesaid incident, Wasim was killed by the policemen,” the complaint claims, as per the publication.

In the police's version, the incident happened during daytime. IE reported the police as saying that early Sunday morning, a "suspicious" rider on a scooter was stopped by their cow protection squad. The driver abandoned the vehicle and jumped into a pond, where he drowned.

Another family member of Wasim claimed, "“We have seen the body. His teeth were broken, his head and face had fractures, and there were marks suggesting his legs were tied… We have submitted a complaint but no action has been taken. The police have also failed to provide any evidence of the alleged cow meat.”

In a counter FIR that was lodged, a police official claimed, "The crowd accused us of shooting their man and throwing him into the pond. Around 100-150 people obstructed our work, held us hostage, abused and beat us, threatened to kill us, and removed evidence from the scene.”