BJP minority leader booked under National Security Act, expelled from party for cow slaughter in MP

A minority leader from Madhya Pradesh, who was associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been charged with the National Security Act after being arrested, last week, for allegedly killing a cow. He has been expelled from the party after his arrest in the case.

On 27 January, right-wing activists entered the house of Anwar Mev, the then vice-president of the BJP's minority cell in Tonkkhurd Mandal in the Dewas district, claiming they heard a "cow mooing in pain". As many as 10 bags of meat were found in Mev's house, out of which three were said to contain beef. The activists carried the bags to the police station. The contents of the bags have been sent for forensic investigation, reported NDTV. The carcass of a cow was also allegedly found in Mev's house, which led to protests by the activists on the same day.

"The National Security Act was slapped on Anwar Mev on 28 January in view of his past criminal record," Dewas District Collector Ashutosh Awasthi was quoted by DNA as saying on Sunday night.

"The (district) administration must have imposed NSA after seeing Anwar's record. Cow slaughter won't be tolerated at all," Shailesh Kesarwani, BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, told Press Trust of India.

Mev was sacked from the BJP after his arrest as the party holds a strong anti-cow slaughter stance. "We have expelled Mev from the party," state BJP spokesman Dr Hitesh Bajpai told PTI.

Mev and nine others, including his sons and nephews, are being kept at the Ujjain jail. They have also been charged under the Madhya Pradesh Cow Slaughter Ban Act.

The law banning cow slaughter in Madhya Pradesh puts the onus of proving oneself innocent on the accused, reports The Hindu. 

Last year, the BJP-led Maharashtra government had banned beef sale in the state.

Violent incidents have erupted at several places in the recent past due to growing paranoia over cow slaughter. Earlier this year, a Muslim couple travelling by train in MP were reportedly beaten up by members of the Gauraksha Samiti over suspicion that they were carrying beef.