Two Muslim men lynched over cow theft suspicion in Assam’s Sonitpur

Assam has a 34 per cent Muslim population with 10.268 million Muslim residents.

Assam: Two Muslim men were allegedly lynched, while a third person received grievous injuries after they were attacked by a mob on suspicion of cow theft in Assam’s Sonitpur district.

The attack took place in a remote Bhalukpong area near the Arunachal Pradesh border in the wee hours of Friday, May 21.

Sonitpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Barun Purkayastha told the Indian Express that the three men allegedly entered the village in an attempt to steal cows.

However, they were caught by angry villagers who assaulted them, leading to the death of two people. “The third person survived and is under treatment. The victims hailed from Morigaon district,” the police officer was quoted by the newspaper.

So far, there has been no arrest. According to the SSP, since the village is situated in a remote forest area with no CCTV cameras, it is difficult to identify the attackers.

Assam has a 34 per cent Muslim population with 10.268 million Muslim residents.

On May 21, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state was maintaining “zero tolerance towards cattle smuggling.” He said that over 850 alleged cattle thieves had been arrested since January and more than 2,980 kg of beef seized.

In a recent report, the Panel of Independent International Experts (PIIE) warned of a steady rise in the systematic human rights violations against Muslims in India between 2022 and 2025, specifically in Assam, to the extent that they can be classified as apartheid.