India is seeing a surge in Hindu vigilante groups violently targeting Muslims for eating beef, with one leader vowing to protect cows “as if they are our daughters and mothers”.
The slaughter of the bovine animals – which are considered holy in Hinduism – is already banned in 20 out of India’s 28 states, and police can make an arrest without a warrant.
Most of the states ruled by India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have established vigilante squads made up of government officials and private citizens to implement the ban
