Ban ‘Gau Rakshaks’ deemed criminals by the PM, demands PIL

Alleging that both police and the Government have been complicit in allowing and encouraging so-called ‘Gau Rakshaks’ to take law in their own hands, the petition filed before the Supreme Court by Shehzad and Tehseen Poonawalla in 2016 had sought a ban on these groups.

These groups had been terrorising Dalits and minorities in the garb of ‘cow protection’, the petition alleged.

Pointing out that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on record saying that a majority of these self-styled protectors of the cow are actually criminals, the petition points to the rise in the terror perpetrated by these groups in the last two years and the failure of both the Central Government and the state governments in curbing their activities.

In states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana these vigilantes get protection or rewards from the state government and have thus earned legitimacy, the PIL said.

“This state sponsored terror by Sangh-affiliated groups will make us like Pakistan where Taliban and LeT were supported by the state apparatus too. We must therefore ban these groups and put their ring leaders in jail as PM Modi himself acknowledges that most (80%) are anti-social elements."

State Governments provide identification cards to such vigilantes. These Vigilante Groups in the garb of cow protection thus enjoy protection from the State Governments.

The Gujarat Animal Prevention Act, 1956 actually provides that “all persons exercising powers under this Act shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code. It further provides that no suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall be instituted against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done.”

In most cases the police and other law enforcement agencies are either complicit in such illegal actions or have merely been a mute spectators against such evil.

The Petitioner most humbly submits that sting operations conducted by various News Channels clearly show that these vigilante groups are mere extortionists in the garb of Cow Protection and are feeding on fear psychosis of victim as well as the community or caste that person belongs to.

The PIL lists the following incidents available in the public domain :

• 25.09.2015 One Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched in his home in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh on suspicion of consumption of beef by Cow Protection Vigilantes.

• 17.10.2015 Noman, aged 20 years, was lynched in Lawasa village in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh on October 17, 2015, allegedly by vigilantes on suspicion of carrying cows for slaughter.

• 18.10.2015 One Zahid Ahmad of Anantnag, cleaner of the truck died of burns suffered during the petrol-bombing of the Valley-bound vehicle on October 9 in Udhampur by a vigilante mob on suspicion of carrying cow.

• 18.03.2016 Cattle traders Majloom Ansari (35) and Imtiyaz Khan (12) were beaten, robbed and hanged from a tree in Jhabra village in the Balumath police station area of Latehar district in Jharkhand by a vigilante mob.

• 31.05.2016 In Chhoti Sadadi, Pratapgarh, Rajasthan vigilantes beat up three truck occupants and set the truck on FIR and even attacked Police when they tried to intervene. The truck was allegedly carrying bullocks.

• 5.5.2016 One Waseem, aged 20 was thrashed by a group of Vigilantes in District Sohna, Haryana on the allegation that he was carrying beef. The attackers belonging to Gau Raksha Dal-Haryana, later uploaded the photographs and video of the same on Social Networking Website. An FIR was registered against the victim and no FIR was registered against the perpetrators of violence.

• 11.06.2016 Some 35 Gau Rakshaks attacked 7 Dalits in Mota Samadhiyala village of Una taluka in Gir, Somnath district, Gujarat accusing them of slaughtering a cow. The Dalits were tied to a car and publicly beaten with iron rods and sticks. They were then taken around the city while publicly being flogged.

• 12.06.2016 Cow vigilante groups threatened soap manufacturing unit in Punjab for allegedly using by-products of cow.

• 29.06.2016 A group of vigilantes forced two men to eat cow dung on the allegation of transporting cow at Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway in Haryana.
  

• 25.6.2016 Two Muslim women were beaten by vigilantes at Mandsaur railway station, Madhya Pradesh on suspicion of carrying beef.

• 31.07.2016 One Rakesh Kumar was beaten by vigilante for allegedly slaughtering cows outside Malout, Muktsar district in Punjab and was later booked under cow slaughter Act.

• 09.08.2016 Two Dalits were beaten up by a mob of Vigilantes while they were skinning a dead cow which had died due to electrocution in East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh.