A mob in northern India has beaten a Muslim man to death and injured four others after accusing them of smuggling cows to be slaughtered for beef.
The casualties were caused after the mob chased the truck loaded with five cows and ten bulls and attacked the five men in the vehicle in Sarahan, a village in Himachal Pradesh State, located about 260 kilometers north of the capital, New Delhi.
Local residents said those attacked were all Muslims from neighboring Uttar Pradesh State.
Somya Sambhasivam, an Indian security official, said police have launched a massive manhunt across the troubled region to detain the attackers.
Police are investigating whether the assailants belonged to a Hindu hard-line group which has been accused of carrying out similar attacks in the region over the past weeks.
Last week, Muslim men who were only removing a cow skin came under attack by a furious Hindu mob in Uttar Pradesh. At least two Muslim men were seriously wounded during the violence and are said to be in critical condition.
Indian media outlets said some 500 people armed with iron rods and bamboo sticks had set fire to dozens of shops belonging to Muslims after the incident.
