Indian father beaten to death following claims he ate cow meat

A Muslim man has been stoned to death in India by an angry mob following rumours that his family had eaten beef.

Mohammad Akhlaq was thrown from his home in the village of Dadri and attacked by around 100 people. Though, the 50-year-old was rescued from the mob and rushed to a hospital, he later died of his injuries.

Akhlaq’s 22-year-old son, who was also seriously injured during the attack, remains critically ill at the intensive care section of the hospital, according to Times of India.

One of his daughters later told newsmen that the family had only eaten mutton and not beef as widely rumoured.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the death, which took place around 35 miles from New Delhi.

Killing of cows is banned in many states in India, a majority-Hindu country that also has a sizeable Muslim, Christian and Buddhist population.

In March, the state of Maharashtra toughened its ban to make even possessing beef illegal. Rumours that the family ate beef started with the disappearance of a calf in Dadri village.