[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Villagers in eastern India beat two Moslem cattle truckers to death on Sunday, police said, in yet another lynching on the pretext of protecting a beast considered sacred by many Hindus.The drivers were transporting cows in West Bengal near the border of Bangladesh when they were stopped by villagers, police said.
"The villagers blocked the road and forced them to stop the vehicle. The two men were then dragged out of the vehicle and lynched. The driver of the vehicle escaped," said senior West Bengal police official Anuj Sharma.
It was too early to say whether the murders were motivated by religion or suspicions the men were mistreating the cows, police added.
An investigation is underway into the lynching and into whether the drivers had legally purchased the cattle or were smugglers involved in the illicit beef trade.
West Bengal permits cow slaughter, unlike many Indian states where possession or consumption of beef is banned, and some where life sentences are imposed for breaking the law.
India has been reeling this year from a spate of vigilante murders, especially targeting Moslems for allegedly killing cows or consuming beef.