The Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Wednesday (26 June 2019) cleared an amendment to the Madhya Pradesh Gauvansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam (anti-cow slaughter law), 2004, to make cow vigilantism a punishable offence. 

The amendment comes a month after a group of cow vigilantes attacked three people, including a Muslim man and woman, over suspicion of carrying beef in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh.

The government, in the amendment, has proposed a jail term of six months to three years and a fine of Rs 25,000-50,000, for those who are booked under the act. However, the punishment may vary from one to five years if a mob is involved in cow vigilantism, told Additional Chief Secretary (Animal Husbandry) Manoj Shrivastava to The Indian Express. The jail term will be doubled, in the case of repeat offenders, he added.

The amendment also includes a provision for those who abet cow vigilantism. It proposes a jail term of one to three years to the culprits. 

Further to ensure safety for the family members, the amendment to the anti-cow slaughter law proposes to punish those who damage property of people charged under the act. 

After the legislation is introduced in the state assembly’s monsoon session starting July 8, Madhya Pradesh will become the first state to make cow vigilantism a punishable offence. 

Following the increasing number of lynching, the SC in July 2018 termed lynching as “horrendous acts of mobocracy”, and urged the parliament to enact a new law to punish those involved in such incidents.

Attacks By Cow-Vigilantes In India

According to a Human Rights Watch report titled: “Violent Cow Protection in India: Vigilante Groups Attack Minorities”, between May 2015 and December 2018, at least 44 people including 36 Muslims were killed in attacks by cow-vigilantes. 

As per Hate Crime Watch, a collaborative database by the Indian organization FactChecker, 254 incidents of crimes were reported between January 2009 and October 2018, in which at least 91 persons were killed and 579 were injured. However, the report by Hate Crime Watch included violence related to cow protection, communal clashes, attacks on inter-faith couples and religious conversions. 

Also Read: Bihar: Cow Vigilantes Thrash Suspected Cattle Smugglers; Police Comes To Rescue, Mob Assaults Them Too