In another incident of cow vigilantism, the Madhya Pradesh police have lodged a case against a self-proclaimed cow protectors’ group who paraded 25 odd persons on the allegation of transporting cows and forcing them to chant ‘gau mata ki jai’ on July 7.
The Incident
A video of the incident shows 15 men tied together with rope and in full view of the public, forced to kneel by the side of the road and chant ‘gau mata ki jai’.
The vigilantes marched the alleged cow smugglers with lathis in their hands and forced them to do sit-ups holding their ears.
#WATCH Several people tied with a rope and made to chant "Gau mata ki jai" in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh on accusation of carrying cattle in their vehicles. (7.7.19) (Note – Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/5pbRZ4hNsR
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2019
“We have booked the people ferrying the cattle for doing so without requisite permissions. We have also lodged a case against the villagers, including farmers, for ill-treating those booked for unauthorised cattle transport,” The Hindu quoted Khandwa Superintendent of Police Shiv Dayal Singh as saying.
The men who were beaten up hail from Khandwa, Sehore, Dewas and Harda districts in Madhya Pradesh.
“With none of the 24 men possessing valid documents to prove their claims and also transporting the cattle in vehicles in consonance with relevant guidelines, they were arrested and booked under provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Govansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam and provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
In another incident in May in Madya Pradesh, two men were beaten up with lathis by five cow vigilantes for allegedly carrying beef.
The self-proclaimed cow protectors tied one of the men to a tree and forced them to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. They also forced one of the men to bash up the woman accompanying them.
The latest incident took place a day before the start of the monsoon session of the state assembly where a bill against cow vigilantism is to be introduced. If the bill is passed, it will allow people convicted of cow vigilantism to be jailed for six months to five years, along with a fine of up to Rs 50,000.
