Two men were beaten, stripped, and paraded semi-naked in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh for allegedly selling beef. The incident came to light after a video of the incident went viral on social media platforms.

The video shows the two men being stripped to their underwear, and being paraded through a street while a few men from the crowd are whipping them with belts in Bilaspur City. The others were seen filming the incident instead of helping the two.

According to local media reports, the two men have been identified as Narsingh Rohidas, 50, and Ramniwas Mehar, 52. They have been arrested on charges of transporting and attempting to sell 33 kg. of beef.

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"We have booked them under relevant laws and sent them to jail on Wednesday," Bilaspur superintendent of police Parul Mathur, told Hindustan Times.

The police arrested the two men under the state's Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act, which prohibits the slaughter of cattle.

According to Mathur, the police took action against the two men on the basis of a complaint filed by a local. However, no case has been registered against the people who assaulted them.

"Police have not got any complaint regarding the beating of the accused. And if the family members register a complaint, police will surely identify the man who was seen beating the accused in the video," said Mathur.

Cows are considered holy by millions of Hindus in India, and eating beef is legally prohibited in several states. Cow vigilantes have been blamed for increasing attacks on those in the cow slaughter trade. The attackers have been emboldened by the presence of right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party governments in some north Indian states.

In 2015, during a similar incident, a Muslim man was lynched by a right-wing group in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, sparking widespread outrage. He was killed because he reportedly stored and consumed beef.

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Activists in New Delhi protest against the killing of a Muslim man over rumours he had eaten beef AFP
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