In a first of its kind in Bihar, a mob in Bhojpur district led by cow vigilantes on Thursday thrashed a truck drive and two others on suspicion of transporting beef, police said.
They also tried to set on fire the vehicle which was on its way to Muzaffarpur district. But the police said they foiled the attempt.
The incident occurred in Shahpur near Ara town when the mob stopped the truck on suspicion that it was carrying beef and caught the three.
All three men were arrested after being rescued from the mob, a police official said.
"They will be interrogated whether they were carrying beef or buffalo meat," the official said.
The protesters blocked the Ara-Buxar road demanding that the three men be handed over to them. The police refused to do that.
"The truck driver has confessed that they were carrying buffalo meat and not cow meat," the official said.