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Of cows, men & murder

Rising vigilantism: What began in Dadri has now spread to nearly 15 states across the country
Last Updated 06 May 2017, 19:43 IST

The reprehensible acts by cow vigilantes seem to be going on unhindered. Some incidents have happened right in front of the police, who have turned a blind eye.

Despite the Centre issuing an advisory last year on the action to be taken by the state governments over such incidents, not much has changed on the ground. This has only emboldened self-styled cow protectors to have a free run.

A big concern is that most of the attacks have taken place in the BJP-ruled states, and as the saffron juggernaut rolls on election after election, the future could be unpredictabl​e.​

Uttar Pradesh


Noida, May 5, 2017

Two contact workers, assumed to be Muslims, thrashed for “cow smuggling”

Dadri, September 28, 2015 (The trigger)

* Mohd Akhlaq (52), son Danish dragged out of their house, beaten with bricks for storing and eating beef

* Akhlaq dies, Danish suffers severe injuries

* Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath bans cow slaughter after taking over in March

* Orders sealing of illegal slaughterhouses, triggering protests

Jammu & Kashmir

Udhampur, Oct 9, 2015

* Truck attacked with petrol bombs after rumours of it carrying dead cows

* Driver succumbs to injuries 10 days later

* Seven held for murder

Reasi, April 20, 2017

* Nomadic family with livestock intercepted

* Family, including nine-year-old girl, beaten with iron rods

* Four arrested and charged with attempt to murder

Cow slaughter or possession of its meat in J&K is criminal offence carrying jail term of not less than 10 years (now also in Gujarat)

Haryana

* Beef is banned, 10-year punishment for cow slaughter

* “Beef biryani policing” -- police squads check random eateries for selling beef

Faridabad, June 10, 2016

* Gau Rakshak Dal members stop beef transporters

* Force them to eat cow dung

Rajasthan

Alwar, April 1, 2017

* 50-year-old dairy farmer Pehlu Khan dies after vigilantes beat him up for transpoting cows; four others injured

* 7 arrested, but none who were named in FIR

* Vipin Yadav, an accused, was compared to Bhagat Singh by cow vigilante Sadhvi Kamal

Has a dedicated Cow Welfare Department, but 2,000 cows died in state-owned shelters due to negligence 
Delhi

Kalkaji, April 22, 2017

* Three youths beaten up by around 25 men, said to be members of People for Animal, for transporting buffaloes

* Youth were en route to municipal slaughter house

* Cops arrested the youth first, attackers later

Kerala House, Oct 26, 2015

* Delhi Police raid Kerala House after complaints that beef was being served

* Hindu Sena claims it received a tip off

* The menu, it claims, has all items in English, except one which is in Malayalam

Gujarat
Una, July 11, 2016

* Four Dalit youths stripped, tied to an SUV and beaten up for skinning dead cow

* But CID report says cows were killed by lions

* Video of incident posted on social media with warning
Punjab
* Case filed on August 6, 2014, against Gau Raksha Dal after a video showing members brutally thrashing “cow smugglers”, went viral

*Dal chief Satish Kumar arrested from Vrindavan on Aug 22, 2016, after being booked on charges of sodomy, rioting and extortion

Telangana
* Struggle against Al kabir and Allanna mechanical slaughter houses of Medak district (earlier undivided AP) has been going on for long

* ‘Gau Rakshaks’ keep vigil on trucks that carry bovines and raid them

* Such raids result in communal tension, particularly during Bakrid

Andhra Pradesh

East Godavari, Aug 10, 2016

* Two Dalits who were skinning a dead cow were brutally beaten by locals

* Farmers who were searching for their missing cows mistook the duo as cow thieves, tied them to a tree and thrashed them

* 7 arrests were made in the case

Maharashtra
Senior BJP MLA Mangalprabhat Lodha seeks capital punishment for slaughtering cows and bulls

Jharkhand

Latehar, March 18, 2016

* Two Muslim men found hanging from a tree

* Mazlum Ansari (32) was a cattle trader; Imteyaz Khan (13) was the son of a cattle trader

Karnataka

Chikkamagalur, July 17, 2016

Seven Bajrang Dal members attack a Dalit family on suspicion of cattle theft and cow slaughter
Madhya Pradesh
Mandsaur, July 26, 2016

* Two Muslim women carrying buffalo meat slapped, kicked and abused by women members of Hindu Dal on suspicion that it was beef

* Police accused of making half-hearted attempts to intervene

Kerala

Surprisingly, for April 12 Malappuram Lok Sabha bypoll, BJP candidate N Sreeprakash promised “clean slaughterhouses for good beef”

Ernakulam, April 19, 2017

Eight RSS activists were arrested in connection with an attack on a house where a calf was slaughtered for Easter

Assam
Nangaon, May 1, 2017:

Two men lynched for “trying to steal cows” in a village, 130 km from Guwahati

Manipur

Imphal East, Nov 3, 2015

Headmaster of govt madrasa killed for “stealing cows” from his neighbouring village

What the Constitution says...

Article 48 (Directive Principles)

Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry: The state shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.

Govt advisory of August 9, 2016

* States are enjoined upon and expected to ensure that any person who takes law into his/her own hands is dealt with promptly, and punished as per law
* There should be no tolerance at all for such persons and full majesty of law must come to bear on them, without exception

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(Published 06 May 2017, 19:43 IST)

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