The evening of July 12 saw surprising hashtags trending on Twitter – #WeLoveBeef and #Beef4life. Turns out it was in response to and in solidarity with a 24-year-old youth, who was attacked after he posted an image of himself having beef soup on Facebook.
Mohammed Faizan, hailing from Poravachery village in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, runs a Xerox shop to make ends meet.
On July 9, he posted a picture of himself consuming beef soup on his personal Facebook account. He reportedly described its taste too.
Enraged by his actions, a group of people barged into his house and beat him mercilessly. Faiza, who sustained the brutal injuries, is recuperating in a district hospital.
On the orders of district Superintendent of Police TK Rajasekaran, the Kilvelur police arrested four people on July 12 – Dinesh Kumar, Agathian, Ganeshkumar and Mohankumar.
The police has registered cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including attempt to murder.
Sources have told Deccan Herald that Dinesh Kumar is a member of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and a local level office bearer. Eyewitnesses told the newspaper that the youth was attacked with a wooden log and iron rod forcing his relatives to demand action against Faizan’s attackers.
In response to the incident, outraged Twitter users relentlessly posted using hashtags #WeLoveBeef and #Beef4life in an attempt to condemn rising incidents of hate crimes, vigilantism, and intolerance over food habits.
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