Politics

Coronavirus May Have Stopped India But Beef Mafia Is Still Operating Like Nobody’s Business

Arihant Pawariya

May 12, 2020, 06:17 PM | Updated 06:52 PM IST


<i>Gau rakshaks </i>of Naval Kishore Sharma’s team in Ramgarh, Rajasthan. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
<i>Gau rakshaks </i>of Naval Kishore Sharma’s team in Ramgarh, Rajasthan. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
  • While Covid-19 has stopped whole of India and shut down whole industries and services, beef mafia is operating like nobody’s business.
  • Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel Coronavirus, has stopped India for the past one and a half months. Hundreds of millions of people are quarantined at home as industries and services remain shut.

    But one “profession” is operating like nobody’s business and that’s cow-smuggling.

    On 8 May, Uttar Pradesh police arrested eight cow-smugglers after an armed encounter with them in Rampur district. The cops received a tip that some cattle thieves were slaughtering cows in the forest. When the Police reached at the spot, the culprits fired on the police but were soon overpowered. A quintal of beef and a cache of illegal weapons were recovered from the group.

    Similar incident happened in Kairana district where cops caught two smugglers slaughtering cows red handed. One of them had prize money of Rs 15,000 on him. They were also found in possession of illegal firearms and 3 quintal cow meat.

    In Uttarakhand’s Bajpur, on 9 May, Police recovred three quintal beef after it raided an illegal slaughterhouse. The smugglers got away.

    On the same day, Bharatpur Police in Rajasthan tried to stop a few vehicles at a check post without success. When cops tried to chase them, they were fired upon. But Police managed to catch all the six vehicles and it found 66 cattle (9 of them were found dead) including 29 cows. Cow smugglers who hailed from Haryana’s Mewat were arrested and sent to jail.

    On 2 May, police in neighbouring Deeg had caught a mini truck full of 10 cattle which were being taken for slaughter. The smugglers ran away after firing on the cops leaving the vehicle behind.

    On the same day, Meerut police arrested 11 cow smugglers who used to slaughter cows and sell beef. They were doing the smuggling by pretending to be dairy farmers. The accused had Rs 25,000 of prize money on them.

    On 5 May, Bulandshahr Police arrested two cow smugglers who had a prize money of Rs 20,000 each on them. Same day, Muzaffarnagar Police caught two cow smugglers red handed. They were slaughtering the cows in a jungle. Police recovered 100 Kg of beef and illegal firearms from the spot.

    Late night on 9 May, at a check post, cops in UP’s Bahraich noticed a bike coming towards them which didn’t have a number plate. When they tried to stop the bike, rider and pillion rider tried to flee. When the Police were closing in on them, they shot at cops injuring four of them. They were caught later and Police found that both the culprits have over 10 cases of cow slaughter against them in Bahraich and Gonda districts. Illegal arms were recovered from them.

    UP Police in Ayodhya arrested four cow smugglers on the same day. In Badaun, three cow thieves were caught who were planning to steal cows and slaughter them.

    On 26 April, Maharashtra Police arrested five cow smugglers from Nashik. They used to transport cattle in a vehicle which had “Jai Bajrang’ written on it. On the same day, Rajasthan police in Alwar caught two smugglers with their vehicle which had 13 cattle brutally packed inside. They were being taken for slaughter.

    Yesterday, when UP police were told of cow carcasses found in Pilibhit, it got into action and arrested three alleged smugglers who are accused of slaughtering the cattle.

    On 10 May, UP Police in Bareilly got a tip that three people were transporting beef in a car. When cops tried to stop the said vehicle, the three people inside shot at the police. All three were arrested later and sent to jail. Cops recovered illegal arms and five quintal beef from the car.

    In Haryana’s Faridabad, on 30 April, some cow smugglers were trying to steal cows in the dead of the night when a resident woke up to the commotion outside. He tried to inquire from the smugglers about who they were but the resident was fired upon. Smugglers ran away. The resident informed the Police about the thieves.

    During the lockdown, there has been an increase in incidents of cow smuggling and slaughter so much so that Special Superintendent of Police Abhishek Yadav had to launch a special drive to crack down on the smugglers.

    This list of cow smuggling arrests is not exhaustive. It is also about the events that have taken place only in the last two weeks. On top of it, these are only those incidents which have been recorded in the media because they got caught by the Police.

    But this certainly tells us that even in the lockdown when the whole country has been stopped in its tracks by the coronavirus, cow smugglers are operating just like before without any fear of law or the so-called gau-rakshaks which have been vilified to a great extent by the mainstream leftist media.

    Arihant Pawariya is Senior Editor, Swarajya.


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