We all hear about the news of “cow vigilance”. There are two general kind of cases regarding “cow vigilance” where a mob has taken law in its own hands:
1. When someone was suspected of having eaten beef
2. When someone was suspected of smuggling cows through vehicles.
I start it by making it very clear that any kind of lynching is wrong and those involved in it deserve to be legally punished. Having said that, if we ponder upon the “second kind” of cases, which is, when someone was suspected of smuggling cows, it takes our attention towards a very serious issue which deserves our high attention, the issue of CATTLE MAFIA.
Whenever a mob lynch a cattle smuggler, MSM takes no time to paint entire incident with colour of religion but this is not truth in many of the cases. Many of the times, it is ordinary people who in order to protect their cows (the source of their livelihood) attack cow smugglers. And such cases receive much attention but not those where cow smugglers attack ordinary people and security forces. So this article compile 15 such cases happened in past few years.
CASE 1:
It was reported on 7th July 2018 that in Meghalaya, cow smugglers in a village attacked 6 people, out of them, 3 died and rest 3 were heavily injured. And as per villagers, the headman and other villagers, earlier this week, had apprehended the main accused when he was trying to smuggle cattle to Bangladesh.
Read the full report here: 3 killed by suspected cow smugglers in Meghalaya
CASE 2:
Two girls, while moving in a car noticed a vehicle which was carrying many cows. Seeing the brutal condition of cows, those two girls chased down the vehicle and asked driver to stop it. As a consequence, the driver attacked them, but the two girls were lucky enough that they were not injured.
Read the full news report here: British NRI, friend shot at by cattle smugglers in Gurugram
CASE 3:
This incident is of Uttar Pradesh. When a home guard was doing his duty, he saw a vehicle transporting cows. When he made efforts to stop the vehicle, cow smugglers fired a bullet on home guard which seriously injured him.
Read the full news report here: गौ तस्करों ने कोबरा ड्यिूटी कर रहे होमगार्ड को मारी गोली
CASE 4:
Two policemen who were on patrol duty saw a group of 5-7 people transporting cows in a mini truck. When the tried to stop those cow smugglers, they opened fired on policemen. This case is from Rajasthan.
Read the full news report here: Rajasthan Police Gun Down Haryana Man Who Was Suspected Of Smuggling Cows
CASE 5:
A similar case was reported in Ambala where cattle smugglers open fired on a policeman. The policeman was fortunate that he escaped the attack. Later, a complaint was registered against those cattle smugglers.
Full report: Cattle smugglers shoot at police vehicle
CASE 6:
People of Nurpur Village received information that few cattle smugglers enter into their farms, slaughter their cows and buffaloes to obtain beef. When they tried to stop them, cattle smugglers open fired on them and ran away.
Full report: ग्रामीणों पर फायरिंग कर मांस तस्कर बाइकें छोड़ भागे
CASE 7:
It was reported in Uttar Pradesh that when policemen signalled a vechile to stop as they were carrying several cows, people inside the vehicle, cattle smugglers, open fired on policemen. In this unfortunate incident, 2 policemen were died and many others were injured.
Full reoort: 2 cops killed in attack by cow smugglers in UP
CASE 8:
3 policemen on checkpoint noticed a vechile loaded with cows, they signalled the vechile to stop. But those cattle smugglers increased the speed of vechile and drove over a policeman. The policeman was shiften to hospital but unfortunately his life couldn’t be saved.
Full report: Police officer crushed to death by cattle smugglers in Jaunpur
CASE 9:
Two cattle smugglers, Hasham and Shaukat were smuggling cows in a truck. But they came in the sight of policemen and when they were being stopped by police, they fired on them. In this incident, a policeman was injured and 21 animals were rescued.
Full report: Policeman injured as cow smugglers open fire at cops in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur
CASE 10:
A BSF Jawan, Tushar Kanti noticed a vechile burdened with cattles coming near checkpoint. BSF Jawan signalled vechile to stop but the smugglers hit the Jawan with vechile and dragged him to nearby shop. Jawan was declared dead in hospital. 5 cattle head were seized from vechile.
Full report: Cattle Smugglers Kill One BSF Guard Along India-Bangladesh Border, As Police Nab Sole Suspect
CASE 11:
Uttar Pradesh policemen were alert as they received information that cattle smugglers might be transporting cattles from Allahabad to Varanasi. When police saw the vechile they attempted to stop it by chasing. But cattle smugglers hit police vechile with their truck and as a consequence, 1 policeman was killed and 5 others were injured.
Full report: Bhadohi: Cattle smugglers hit police vehicle chasing them; cop killed, 6 injured
CASE 12:
Poice personnel from Nuh Police Station were attacked by cattle smugglers in Haryana’s notorious Mewat region leaving two constables injured. They even fired at cops, but were caught after a chase.
Full report: Mewat meat mafia opens fire at Haryana Police, two constables wounded
CASE 13:
It was 12 mid night, when Rambabu, a common villager was sleeping in his home. Suddenly, he heard some voices and woke up. He found that few cattle smugglers are stealing his three cows. He struggled to stop them but was fired by cattle smugglers which got him seriously injured.
Full report: जानवर चोरों ने ग्रामीण को गोली मारी
CASE 14:
Trilok Singh and his relatives were fired by cattle smugglers when they tried to stop them from stealing cows. This incident has taken place in Haryana.
Full report: जानवर चोरों ने ग्रामीण को गोली मारी
CASE 15:
A cattle smuggler, Ehsan, was moving in a truck when police signalled him to stop. But instead, he further increased speed of his vechile and attempted to crush policemen. After a long chase, he was caught but one of his companion succeeded in running away.
Full report: गोवंश तस्करों ने की पुलिस टीम पर ट्रक चढ़ाने की कोशिश, एक गिरफ्तार
AN OBSERVATION:
We have just now studied several cases where cattle smugglers attacked a group of people and security forces. Now just imagine if “reverse” happens. Suppose a group of people which saw cattle smugglers snatching away their cows, attack them. In that case, even without any investigation, Media label that “group of common people” as “Hindutva Mob”, some step even further and label them as “Cow Terrorists”
In fact, those states where we see the act of “cow vigilance” happening more are some of those where act “cow smuggling” occurs more. For example, we all often hear the name of Rajasthan in the cases of “cow vigilance” but the truth which is not told by MSM is that in Rajasthan alone, 1113 cases of cow smuggling were registered in past 3 years.
NOT JUST IN INDIA
As I have said, in India, whenever a group of people attack cattle smugglers, Media turn “the group” into “Hindutva mob” and “cattle smugglers” into “innocent people”. So let’s take few cases from those countries where there is no chance of “BJP/RSS/Hindutva people” being there.
PAKISTAN: It was reported that in Rawalpindi [Pakistan] A suspected thief was beaten to death by villagers when he was caught stealing cattle along with his accomplices in an Attock village on Monday.
Full report: Villagers beat ‘cattle thief’ to death
MADAGASCAR: Madagascan villagers have killed more than 60 cattle thieves in separate attacks in four areas and 98 out of 100 stolen zebu, the local breed of cattle, were recovered.
Full report: More than 60 cattle thieves killed by Madagascar villagers
MALAWI: Angry villagers in Dowa on Friday torched to death a man believed to have come from Area 25 in Lilongwe for being suspected of stealing cows.
Full report: Cattle thief torched to death in Dowa
BANGLADESH: Angry villagers beat four men to death and injured another two on suspicion of cattle rustling in Noakhali.
Full report: Four ‘cattle thieves’ beaten to death in Noakhali
KENYA: Two suspected cattle thieves were yesterday lynched by residents of Nangwe village in Kabuchai.
Obviously, the number of incidents of cow vigilance taken place in India is far greater than any of those countries mentioned above, but then, it is to be considered that the number of cows, number of smugglers and the sensitivity towards cows is also far greater in India.
Acknowledgement:
I’m truly grateful to a Twitter user, @Sanity_3, who made a wonderful long thread of tweets highlighting those cases where cow smugglers attacked common people and security forces. It is because of him, I thought of writing this article.
