A Muslim youth made a daring effort to rescue a cow that had fallen into a well in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, even as communal tensions simmered in the state after the lynching of a Muslim man over rumours he had eaten beef. 

Mohammad Zaki was returning from prayers at a masjid on Saturday when he saw a crowd around a well where a cow had accidentally fallen 35 feet deep. 

Zaki volunteered to be lowered into the well and strapped himself to a crane, according to the Press Trust of India. 

He then harnessed the strap around the cow and was raised as he sat on the back of the animal, The Times of India reported. 

"I went in because its life was at risk. It was suffocating down there and the cow was distressed," Zaki told TOI. 

The Muslim youth was lauded by District Magistrate of Lucknow Raj Shekhar for his action that helped towards fostering communal harmony. 

"Hats off to the man...Long live communal amity in Lucknow," Shekhar said through his social media account. 

Last week, four Muslim youths from Lucknow had rescued a calf from a manhole, PTI reported. 

Meanwhile in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, communal tensions were high after the lynching of a Muslim man, Mohammed Ikhlaq, last week. 

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