A cure for cow vigilantes?

A Nashik court on Monday, June 26, sent 11 members of the 'Gau Rakshak Group', arrested on charges of murder, to seven days of police custody.

The accused were produced before the court by investigating officer API Shraddha Gandhas. They were arrested by Ghoti police on Sunday morning, June 25, for their involvement in the brutal killing of Afaan Abdul Majid Ansari (31), a resident of Kurla, Mumbai, on Saturday, June 24.

The 'gau rakshaks' beat up Ansari — who they suspected of transporting beef on Sinnar-Ghoti border in Nashik district — with iron rods. The far right cow vigilante group of fifteen persons had stopped the car in which the meat was being ferried and attacked the two inmates.

The incident took place some 25 kilometres from the spot from where two cattle transporters were beaten by a mob on June 8. One of the victims, Lukman Ansari, was found dead on June 10 — the dead body was later found in a gorge nearby. The Igatpuri police had later charged six members of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal for murder.

Nashik Rural SP Shahaji Umap said that a toll plaza worker had provided the cow vigilantes tip after which they took action. The police have booked the accused under IPC 302 (murder) , 307 (attempt to murder), 341, 326, 324, 143, 147, 148 and 149 at Ghoti Police Station.

The complaint was lodged by Nasir Ghulam Hussain Qureshi (24), a resident of Kurla (East) who was with the deceased in the car at the time of the incident. 

The accused have been identified as Jivram Kisan Gawli, Bhushan Jaganath Ahire (28), Laxman Lahanu Godse (30), Hemant Hirasingh Pardeshi (22), Kiran Sunil Gawli (22), Roshan Sukhdev Tupe (22), Rahul Baburao Wakchowre (25), a resident of Igatpuri, Mahesh Atmaram Gadve (26), Igatpuri,  Sanket Balasahen Sanap (22), Roshan Dashrath Tupe (19) and Ganesh Vishnu Tupe.

Barring Gadve and Sanap, the rest were residents of Sinnar Taluka of the district. According to the police, the accused were arrested on Sunday morning.

Assistant police inspector, Ghoti police, Shraddha Gandhas told National Herald: "The accused have been arrested and remanded to police custody for seven days. They don’t seem to be connected with the earlier murder of a cattle transport in the area. We are trying to find more in the case and want to recover murder weapons from them. So far the accused have been uncooperative."

The Ghoti police in a statement, issued Monday evening, that the complainant and the deceased were taking buffalo and bullock meat in the swift car MH 02 BJ 6525 to Mumbai when fifteen people apprehended their car and attacked them with iron rods and sticks in a fit of rage at Gambhir Wadi Phata on Sinnar–Ghoti road on Saturday at 5:30 pm.