Nearly two weeks after two women were allegedly gangraped in Mewat district of Haryana, one of them came out in the open on Sunday. The woman claimed that the attackers told her that they were being punished for eating beef.

An NDTV report said that the victim narrated the incident in presence of activist Shabnam Hashmi in New Delhi. "They asked if we eat beef. We said that we don't, but they said that was why (we were being punished)," the woman was quoted as saying.

"The main motive seems to have been rape. The four arrested men are known troublemakers in the village and had been seen drinking the morning of the attack," a cousin of the victims was also quoted as saying.

READ: 4 arrested for twin murder, gangrape case in Mewat, investigation to continue

THE INCIDENT

On the intervening night of August 24-25, some people entered a house in Mewat, where a 20-year-old woman and her 14-year old cousin was sexually assaulted by attackers inside their home. Their uncle and aunt were beaten to death the same night.

Police have arrested four accused in connection with the case. But, they were booked for rape and trespass. Charges of murder were added only after locals staged a protest in Mewat.

YECHURY WRITES TO RAJNATH

CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury raised this issue with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Yechury wrote a letter to Singh seeking his immediate intervention.

In his letter, Yechury claimed that the attackers were members of local gau-rakshak dal. A CPI-M team had visited the village, where this incident took place.

READ: Mewat murder and gangrape: Yechury writes to Rajnath, seeks action against cow vigilantes

SITUATION IN MEWAT



Mewat has been tensed for past several months with frequent incidents of cow vigilante groups attacking suspected cattle smugglers. A truck driver was beaten to death in June for allegedly carrying beef.

Recently, police collected samples of biryani to ensure that beef was not used in the preparation of the dish. Cow slaughter is prohibited in Haryana and violators may attract jail term of upto ten years and a fine upto Rs five lakh.

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