A BJP worker was thrashed by a group of self-styled gau rakshaks in a village in Nagpur Rural district on Wednesday on the suspicion of carrying beef. While speaking to media, the BJP worker said the meat was of 'door' - a Marathi word used for the bovine family.

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Salim Shah (32), former in charge of BJP's minority cell in Katol taluka who has been associated with the party for the last 12 years, fell unconscious after the thrashing he received at Barasinghi chowk, around 85km from here.

"I was targetted by around four to five people," he said. Police have booked Shah for "carrying beef" even as the forensic report on the meat is awaited. Shah is undergoing treatment at a hospital here. Four persons have been arrested for the assault while riot control police have been deployed at different sensitive localities.

One of the accused is the taluka president of an organisation run by independent MLA Bacchu Kadu.

Nagpur Rural SP Shailesh Balkawade issued warnings on the social media against rumour mongering and inciting communal passions. However, this hasn't deterred miscreants from circulating the clip of Shah's thrashing on WhatsApp groups.

Shah, who trades in cotton and pulses, had purchased around 15kg meat from Amner village in Warud tehsil in Amravati district. The meat was kept in the dickey of his scooter. He was attacked while he was returning to his residence in Katol taluka.

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Shah's wife Zareen told reporters that being from the Shah community, the family neither trades in meat nor are they butchers. "We had to participate in a religious programme of a local mosque body on a hillock for which the meat had been purchased for the community meal," she said.

Sources said the cow vigilantes, led by Kadu's associate Moreshwar Tandulkar (26), pulled down Shah from his scooter and showered blows on him. Tandulkar also roped in Ashwin Uikey (25), Rameshwar Taywade (42) and Jagdish Choudhuri (25).

The four have been remanded in police custody till July 17. "Police rescued Shah from the mob and rushed him to a local primary health centre," said the investigating officer, sub-inspector VK Korde. Balkawade said the meat has been sent to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Nagpur. "If the report of the RFSL comes negative then we shall discharge the victim (Shah)," he said.