Nashik: The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Thane on Saturday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against a group of men for slapping and abusing an elderly man repeatedly on the Mumbai-bound Dhule Express after accusing him of carrying beef. The co-passengers made a video of the said incident and made it viral on social media.

As per preliminary investigation, the man was carrying buffalo meat, which is not banned in the state, officials said. The video that has gone viral shows a mob questioning 72-year-old Haji Ashraf Munyar violently over a meat-like substance in two big plastic boxes that he was carrying on the train.

Jalgaon-based Munyar was on his way to visit his daughter in Kalyan when all of a sudden, a group of men started arguing with him over a seat after the train left Nashik Road Railway Station and before it reached Igatpuri, the police said. The video shows several people surrounding the elderly man and threatening him.

The group then started to physically assault the elderly man even as he pleaded before them, saying that it was goat meat and not beef. "We will know about it (the kind of meat) once we get it tested," said one of the men. "It's sawan season. It's our festival and you are doing this," another man asserted.

The accused did not allow the senior citizen to get down at the Kalyan Railway Station. He could only alight and reach his daughter's residence after the mob got off the train and left at Thane.

"We have taken cognisance of the video and identified the victim. Some of the people involved in the attack have also been identified, and a probe is on," a GRP official said, adding that no case has been registered so far.

Some of the suspects have been detained in Dhule and are being brought to Thane for interrogation, said Assistant Police Inspector Gopal, Thane Railway Police Station. " A police team has been deputed to bring them to Thane. We are checking the CCTV footage and the viral video and taking necessary action," he added/

The GRP appealed people not to upload any videos viral without verification. Nobody should believe on the rumours being spread on the social media, a statement said.