SHIMLA (TIP): Suspected Bajrang Dal activists lynched a man from Uttar Pradesh at a village near Shimla because they suspected he was smuggling cattle, his relative has alleged.

A seriously injured Noman was found by Himachal Pradesh Police on October 14 morning inside a truck at Sarahan village near Nahan, and rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

His relative Imran Asgar, who was travelling with him, said Noman was severely beaten up by Bajrang Dal activists after they stopped the truck carrying cattle.

The four other occupants of the truck were booked under the Himachal Pradesh Cow Slaughter Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act after police found the truck was carrying cattle.

Police also registered a case of murder under section 302 of the IPC and are investigating whether Bajrang Dal activists were behind the attack.

The incident came three weeks after a 55-year-old man was lynched in Bisada village of Uttar Pradesh over rumours that he had slaughtered a cow on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.