 A Hindu mob attacked a Muslim village in northern India, torching homes and killing three people, after hearing rumors that cows, considered holy by Hindus, were slaughtered for Islamic celebrations, police said Sunday. Hindus from neighboring areas attacked Mehndipur village in the northern Uttar Pradesh state on Saturday night and set fire to dozens of houses after being told villagers had killed the cows for a feast to mark Eid-al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the day before, said S. B. Shirodkar, a local police chief. Three Muslims died and more than 40 houses were torched, Shirodkar said.
| "Happy holidays, you cow-slaughtering Moose limb bastards!" |
He said a police investigation revealed no cow had been slaughtered in the village.
Authorities deployed paramilitary forces in and around Mehndipur, about 20 miles east of the state capital, Lucknow. Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state, and about 15 percent of its 180 million people are Muslims. |