Mob in India sets van suspected of carrying beef on fire

Case has been registered against attackers as well as van driver for transporting beef despite ban

A mob in the Indian state of Maharashtra set a van on fire on Sunday night following rumours that it was carrying beef, NDTV reported.

The van was stopped after locals suspected it was carrying beef and after investigating the meat it was carrying, around 100 people torched the vehicle.

“They stopped the van and checked it and it appeared to them that the meat was beef and they set it on fire," a police official said.

Read: Mob rule: Muslim man lynched for ‘eating beef’ in India

The police later said that preliminary investigations suggested the meat being transported was indeed around 100 kg of beef. The sale and consumption of beef is illegal in Maharashtra.

Though the van was partially damaged, the driver remained unharmed.

"A case has been registered against unknown people who were involved in burning the vehicle, as well as against the driver who despite the ban was transporting the meat," police officers said.

Read: Indian leader warns of unrest over Modi govt’s ‘Quran discourages eating beef’ claim

The incident comes days after a mob in India beat to death an old Muslim man and severely injured his son following rumours that he and his family had been consuming beef. Residents of the Bisara village in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, attacked the family of Muhammad Akhlaq, 50, after a local temple reportedly spread rumours that some Muslims had been slaughtering cows, police officials said. Akhlaq himself was beaten to death while his 22-year-old son was severely wounded, they added.

This article originally appeared on NDTV.