Beef of the Day: Indian Mob Lynched a Man Over Rumors of Eating Cow Meat

We live in a very intense world, people.

The India Express is reporting that a mob of Hindus, the majority religion in India, pulled a Muslim man out of his home Sept. 28. They proceeded to beat him to death.

The cause? They heard rumors that had eaten beef.

Six people were arrested in connection with the attack, around 45 km from Delhi, sparking protests that led to police firing, damage to vehicles and injuries to a 20-year-old welder who works for the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) facility in the area.

Police said they have sent samples of meat taken from Akhlaq's home "to the forensics department for examination". Akhlaq's daughter, Sajida, said the family had "mutton in the fridge" and not beef.

Since then the story has taken on a life of its own and the hashtag #Dadri trended on Twitter, sparking an intense debate about religious tolerance and the societal schisms in India.

#Dadri incident a reminder: You could be an upstanding citizen, your son may serve in the Air Force but if you eat beef, you will be lynched

— Abhinav Vishnoi (@abhinav_vish) September 30, 2015

@PMOIndia gives wonderful speeches on religious freedom, but fails to explain the same to his own partymen ! #Dadri pic.twitter.com/6RhUk9E5gy

— कोमल :) (@Komal_Indian) September 30, 2015

@RanaAyyub I am hindu-bhramin and I eat beef! Come kill me #beef #dadri

— Ramkrishna (@ramkrishnap) September 30, 2015

The Washington Post provides some context to the crazy crime.

The attack on Monday night in the northern Indian city of Dadri has shocked the country, but it wasn't exactly a surprise. For the past six months, meat has been a matter of major debate in India.

Eighty percent of the country's of 1.3 billion inhabitants are Hindu — who avoid beef for religious reasons. Roughly 250 million Indians are not. That tally includes almost 25 million Christians and up to 140 million Muslims, like Akhlaq.

The issue has raged in India for years. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power last May, however, incidents have increased, as they tend to do whenever a conservative government has been in power.