The Haryana Police have arrested five persons for allegedly beating a 26-year-old migrant worker to death and injuring another in the Charkhi Dadri district after claiming that the two of them had consumed beef, The Hindu reported on Saturday.

The accused men, identified as Abhishek, Ravinder, Mohit, Kamaljeet and Sahil, were part of a cow vigilante group, Superintendent of Police Pooja Vashisth said. Two juveniles were also held in connection with the incident that took place on Tuesday.

As per the first information report, the group had taken Sabir Malik, a scrap dealer from West Bengal who lived near Badhra village, to the local bus stand under the pretext of giving him some scrap material.

Another migrant worker named Asiruddin, who hailed from Assam, was also called to the bus stand. Both the men were beaten there, the police said. The group then took the two of them to another location on their motorbikes after passers-by intervened, according to The Hindu.

Malik’s body was reportedly found near a canal in Bhandwa village. Asiruddin was found at another location and was taken to hospital.

Malik’s brother-in-law Sujauddin filed a complaint with the police on the day of the incident, The Hindu reported.

Sujauddin and his father were returning home after picking scraps on Tuesday when the members of the vigilante group confronted them and claimed that they had eaten beef, he said. The two of them were then taken by the group to the Badhra police station.

“I was at the police station when I got a call from my sister saying that some men had come and taken along her husband [Malik] on pretext of selling some scrap,” Sujauddin said. “I reported it to the police immediately. He was later found dead near a canal.”