Four people have been detained in connection with the attack. (Video grab)

A man was beaten up by locals in Nagpur's Bharsingi area on suspicion of carrying beef. The incident reportedly took place on Wednesday (July 12).

Four people have been detained in connection with the case. Salim Ismail Shah, 36, was thrashed with rods and sticks by a few men said to be members of a group named - Prahar Sanghatan. The fringe group is allegedly linked to local MLA Bachchu Kadu.

"I was carrying mutton not beef. I told the attackers about it but they refused to listen. I also told them that it was not my profession but in vain. The thrashed me and left. Later, some policemen took me to a hospital," Shah said.

"I want them to be punished," he added.

The latest incident in Nagpur adds to the long list of such unprovoked attack on people accused of carrying beef across the country.

#WATCH: Man beaten up for allegedly carrying beef in Nagpur's Bharsingi, no arrests have been made yet. #Maharashtra (July 12th) pic.twitter.com/JiFAZMfRSS - ANI (@ANI_news) July 13, 2017

Taking cognisance of the incident, Maharashtra Home Minister Ranjeet Patil said assured strict action against the culprits.

"Regardless of whether it was beef or not, no one has the right to take law into their hands. We will take strict action. No one would be spared," Patil told India Today.

Last month, a teenager - Junaid - was killed and his cousins were thrashed in a train by a mob which accused them of carrying beef. The incident took place when they were returning home in Ballabhgarh, Haryana, from Delhi by a local train after Eid shopping.

Days later the horrific incident, a 200-strong mob beat up a Muslim man and set his house on fire after a dead cow was found outside his home in Jharkhand's Giridih district.

(With inputs from Kamlesh Sutar in Mumbai)

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Man beaten up in Nagpur for carrying beef, 4 detained