Nine people were arrested after a brawl over misbehaviour with a Muslim couple travelling on the Kushinagar Express on suspicion that they were carrying cow meat, police said on Friday.
Harda resident Mohammad Hussain and his wife Naseem Bano were returning home when a few people barged into the train compartment at Chhnera railway station in Khandwa district on Wednesday and began searching the passengers' belongings.
These people claimed to be members of an organisation working for the protection of cows. They found packed meat from under a berth in the compartment.
Harda's additional superintendent of police Kiranlata Kerkatta told IANS on Friday that a brawl ensued between the two sides after Hussain relatives arrived when the train reached Khirkia railway station.
The General Railway Police from Itarsi station arrested nine people from both the groups. A test later revealed the meat found in the train was of a buffalo.