text: Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The cow is considered sacred by India's Hindu majority 
   
   The western Indian state of Gujarat has passed a law making the slaughter of cows punishable with life imprisonment. 
   
   Under an amendment to the state's Animal Preservation Act, those found guilty of transporting beef will also be jailed for 10 years. 
   
   The cow is considered sacred by India's Hindu majority, and killing cows is illegal in many states. 
   
   But the new amendment means Gujarat now has the toughest laws on the issue in the country. 
   
   Offenders will face heavy fines, as well as time behind bars. The penalty for either act has been doubled from 50,000 rupees ($771; £618) to 100,000 rupees. 
   
   Gujarat Minister of State Pradipsinh Jadeja told reporters that the cow was a symbol of Indian culture and the amendments to the act had been made "in consultation with the people". 
   
   Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has also spoken repeatedly of "harsh" punishment for those who kill cows. 
   
   The new law will come into effect once approved by the state's governor. ||||| FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2015 file photo, a student activist holds a placard during a protest denouncing the killing of a 52-year-old Muslim farmer Mohammad Akhlaq by villagers upon hearing rumors that... (Associated Press) 
   
   FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2015 file photo, a student activist holds a placard during a protest denouncing the killing of a 52-year-old Muslim farmer Mohammad Akhlaq by villagers upon hearing rumors that the family was eating beef, a taboo for many among India's majority Hindu population, in New Delhi,... (Associated Press) 
   
   FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2015 file photo, a student activist holds a placard during a protest denouncing the killing of a 52-year-old Muslim farmer Mohammad Akhlaq by villagers upon hearing rumors that the family was eating beef, a taboo for many among India's majority Hindu population, in New Delhi,... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2015 file photo, a student activist holds a placard during a protest denouncing the killing of a 52-year-old Muslim farmer Mohammad Akhlaq by villagers upon hearing rumors that... (Associated Press) 
   
   NEW DELHI (AP) — A Muslim man beaten by a mob that accused him of transporting cows for slaughter has died in western India, police said Wednesday, in the latest violence by Hindu vigilante groups enraged over treatment of the animal they consider sacred. 
   
   Pehlu Khan died late Tuesday of injuries sustained when he and 14 other men were brutally beaten three days earlier in Rajasthan state, police said. 
   
   Hindus, who form 80 percent of India's 1.3 billion population, consider cows to be sacred and for many eating beef is taboo. In many Indian states, the slaughtering of cows and selling of beef is either restricted or banned. 
   
   The men had bought the dairy cows at a cattle fair and were taking them home in neighboring Haryana state when the mob stopped the trucks, pulled out the men and beat them, said the duty officer at the police control room in Behror town, where Saturday's attack took place. 
   
   Behror is about 155 kilometers (95 miles) southwest of India's capital, New Delhi. 
   
   Indian television channels broadcast video of the men being beaten with sticks and iron rods. One of the truck drivers, a Hindu, was released by the mob, but was warned not to transport cattle in his truck. 
   
   No arrests have been made, the police officer said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. 
   
   Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, took office in 2014, hard-line Hindus have been demanding that India ban beef sales — a key industry for many within India's poor, minority Muslim community. There has also been a sharp rise in the activities of self-styled Hindu cow-protection groups that stop trucks on highways and attack anyone transporting bovine animals. 
   
   Rumors of beef eating by Muslims have sparked violence in several places in northern India. About two years ago, a man was beaten to death by a mob over rumors his family had eaten beef, and two others were killed for allegedly transporting cows for slaughter.
target: – A Muslim man beaten by a mob that accused him of transporting cows for slaughter has died in western India, police said Wednesday, in the latest violence by Hindu vigilante groups enraged over treatment of the animal they consider sacred. Pehlu Khan died late Tuesday of injuries sustained when he and 14 other men were brutally beaten three days earlier in Rajasthan state, police said. The men had bought the dairy cows at a cattle fair and were taking them home in neighboring Haryana state when the mob stopped the trucks, pulled out the men, and beat them, said the duty officer at the police control room in Behror town, where Saturday's attack took place. Indian television channels broadcast video of the men being beaten with sticks and iron rods, the AP reports. No arrests have been made. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, took office in 2014, hard-line Hindus have been demanding that India ban beef sales—a key industry for many within India's poor, minority Muslim community. There has also been a sharp rise in the activities of self-styled Hindu cow-protection groups that stop trucks on highways and attack anyone transporting bovine animals. Rumors of beef eating by Muslims have sparked violence in several places in northern India. About two years ago, a man was beaten to death by a mob over rumors his family had eaten beef, and two others were killed for allegedly transporting cows for slaughter. In many Indian states, the slaughtering of cows and selling of beef is either restricted or banned. The BBC reports that Gujarat state recently enacted the nation's toughest laws on the matter—slaughtering cows there is now punishable by life in prison.