Cow vigilantes from Bajrang Dal assault ‘mentally challenged’ homeless man in Rajasthan on suspicion of eating beef – Alt News

Trigger Warning: Disturbing Details

Self-proclaimed cow vigilantes on January 1 brutally assaulted a middle-aged man in Kishanpura village in Aklera tehsil of Jhalawar district in Rajasthan, accusing him of killing a cow and eating beef in public. Three persons have been arrested in the case. Police told Alt News that the victim was mentally challenged.

Videos of the incident have since gone viral on social media. In one of them, the victim can be seen sitting on the ground near a pile of garbage. The remains of what appears to be cattle are visible. While some people question him, one person forces him to say, “Cow is our mother.” Some in the mob say, “He is from outside, not from here.”

In another video, some men in the mob drag the man across the road, punch him, and hurl insults at him. Others hold the victim in the middle of the road and try to force an oncoming truck to run over him. The man cries out in pain, “Aiyo Appa!” Another member of the crowd retorts, “He’s a Muslim after all.”

Note that “Aiyo Appa” is commonly used in the colloquial language of South India. It’s possible this man is from that region.

राजस्थान, झालावाड़ के अकलेरा इलाके में एक दक्षिणपंथी ग्रुप ने कथित तौर पर बीफ़ (गोमांस) खाने का आरोप लगाकर एक बुज़ुर्ग आदमी को बेरहमी से पिटाई की। उन्होंने उस पर रोहिंग्या बांग्लादेशी होने का भी आरोप लगाया।#rajsthan #jhalawar #Islamophobia #MobLynching #muslim #BJPGovernment pic.twitter.com/n4G0rCWGdT

— Reporter Madam (@Reportermadam) January 2, 2026

Alt News contacted Jhalawar superintendent of police Amit Kumar to gather more information on the matter. He stated that after receiving a video of the incident, police arrested three people. The accused had beaten up the victim on suspicion of killing a cow and consuming beef.

Speaking with Alt News, Aklera police inspector Dharamram stated that the victim was mentally disturbed and he was found sitting near the remains of a dead cow. He was a vagabond and he left the place after the attack. While police are yet to trace the victim, Dharamram informed us that the assaulters had been identified as Rakesh, Rohan, and Ajay. They were arrested.  

A report in Dainik Bhaskar names the accused as Rakesh Rao, Ajay Pareta, and Rohan Sen.

Accused are Cow Vigilantes with Bajrang Dal Connection

While digging further, Alt News could identify the perpetrators independently and trace their social media profiles. They were associated with the Bajrang Dal and identified themselves as cow protectors.

While investigating the accused, Alt News found another video of the incident. This video was posted by a user named Raja Goswami, who tagged Rakesh Mehta and Rohan Sen. In the video, a middle-aged man is seen eating something, with cattle remains lying nearby, and then the men posing as cow vigilantes assault him.

Based on this, we looked for the Instagram accounts of Rakesh Mehta and Rohan Sen. According to Rakesh Mehta’s Instagram profile, he is the “Bajrang Dal District Coordinator” and is associated with the “VHP Bajrang Dal Gau Seva Samiti Aklera.”

According to Rohan Sen‘s Instagram bio, he is the ‘VHP Bajrang Dal City Gau Raksha Pramukh’ of Aklera. 

We also noticed that Rakesh regularly tagged an Instagram account named ‘Ajay Bajrangi’ in his videos, and Ajay was also associated with the Bajrang Dal.

We also found that these three accounts often collaborated with each other. Taking this into account, Alt News compared photos of Rakesh Mehta, Ajay Bajrangi, and Rohan Sen with the people seen in the viral video. We discovered that these individuals were the same ones involved in the assault an the elderly man in Aklera. In fact, Rakesh and Ajay have photos on their Instagram timeline wearing the same clothes as on the day of the incident. See comparisons below:

Rakesh Mehta:

Ajay Bajrangi:

Rohan Sen:

While combing though their Instagram timelines, we discovered that they were associated with the Bajrang Dal and were cow protectors. We found that in the name of cow protection, they would often stop trucks on the roads and interrogate people while brandishing swords. A video posted by Rakesh Mehta shows two men standing on the roadside, and as a truck passes by, they chase, stop, and search it. This process is part of a common practice of “cow protectors,” in which men posing as cow vigilantes stop and search any vehicle, and if they find meat or cattle inside, they beat up the driver and those accompanying them.

In another Instagram video, Rakesh Mehta shows a sword and talks about “picking up the sword to protect the country, religion, mother, sister, and mother cow.” Rakesh had gifted the sword to Ajay Bajrangi on his birthday. The caption reads, “Weapons are essential in every Hindu home #JaiShriRam #JaiHinduRashtra.”

Once can find many posts on Rohan Sen’s Instagram timeline in which he poses with swords and guns.
(Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Alt News spoke with two of the accused in this incident. One of them, who did not want to be named, said they had no idea who the elderly man was or where he was from. The residents of Akrela had assaulted him after learning he had been sitting there eating beef for the past two days. However, they later learned the victim was mentally ill.

The second accused in the case told us that he had learned through an informant that a man was eating beef on the street. He informed the police, and when the police took no action for an hour and a half and the elderly victim pelted them with stones, the mob attacked the man. The accused further explained that the police later took no action against the middle-aged man accused of eating beef, but arrested three of them on charges of assault. He said they had been granted bail on January 5.

Alt News has reported extensively on cow-vigilante violence in India. Related reports can be read here. 

Related