The accused, Rajesh Kumar, of Karnal district in Haryana, has been booked under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 382 (having made preparation for causing death), 384 (extortion) and 511 (attempt to commit offence) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Rajpura Sadar police station.
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Kumar, who is yet to be arrested, said he has no information regarding the case. However with cow slaughter and beef consumption being politicised and contentious issues, the officers are hoping to take necessary action while navigating through a rough terrain.
Patiala SSP Gurmeet Chauhan said, “In the video on social networking sites Gau Raksha Dal members can be seen brutally thrashing truck drivers in the name of cow protection”.
A day ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had strongly rebuked cow vigilantes, saying a lot of them are “anti-social” elements who are running “shops” in the name of cow protection. The notorious Gau Raksha Dal has been posting videos of its attacks on trucks carrying cattle for slaughter. Among others named in the FIR are Annu and Gurpreet alias Happy. According to senior police officials, while the process of identifying “mischievous elements”, had already been initiated, a strategy against such outfits will not only include stopping individuals from taking law in their hand but also monitoring of social media activities of such groups. About 30 to 40 soap factories have reportedly closed down because of harassment by groups like the Gau Raksha Dal, which alleges that cow fat is used to make oil-based soaps.
“I would like to tell all countrymen that they beware of these fake cow protectors”, Modi said.
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Haryana cow commission on Wednesday chose to issue identity cards to cow protectors following police inputs about fake cow vigilantes extorting money from truckers.
