Cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi, an accused in the 2023 Nuh communal riots, was allegedly duped of Rs 30,000 by a man on the pretext of arranging his marriage. Police have registered an FIR and are investigating the case.
A special court in Veraval, Gujarat, has convicted five individuals and acquitted 35 others in the 2016 Una flogging case, where four Dalit men were thrashed for skinning a cow carcass, sparking nationwide protests.
Cattle trade has been suspended in several weekly markets in Jalna district, Maharashtra, following allegations of harassment and attacks by cow vigilantes. Traders cite prolonged legal battles and selective targeting as reasons for the boycott.
A special court in Gujarat has sentenced five individuals to five years in prison for the 2016 Una flogging case, where four Dalit men were thrashed for skinning a cow carcass.
A suspected cow vigilante, accused in the Nasir-Junaid murders, allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. He left a video alleging harassment by Bajrang Dal members.
Two men were beaten up and thrown into a canal in Haryana's Palwal district allegedly by some cow vigilantes, leading to the death of one of the victims. Police have arrested five of the 11 accused. The incident occurred on February 22 when the accused intercepted a truck transporting cattle from Rajasthan to Lucknow on suspicion of cow smuggling. The truck driver and his helper were beaten up and thrown into a canal. While the driver survived, the helper's body was found in the canal on Sunday.
Five cow vigilantes in Faridabad have been charged with mob lynching in the death of a student who they mistook for a cattle smuggler. The Faridabad police filed a 600-page chargesheet against the accused, including statements from 30 witnesses. The chargesheet includes sections for murder, criminal conspiracy, and intentionally concealing evidence.
The father of teenager Aryan Mishra, who was shot dead allegedly by cow vigilantes in a car chase in Faridabad, is restless with many questions about the death, such as why none of the other passengers in the vehicle were hurt in the attack.
Bajrangi has been an accused in the case of Nuh violence that had started in July last year after a procession organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was attacked by a mob.
Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday said he has asked the state police to maintain strict vigil and seal borders to ensure there is no transportation of cattle from neighbouring states and also no attack on gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes).
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked various state governments to apprise it in six weeks on the action taken in incidents of mob lynching and cow vigilantism.
According to sources, the incident took place on Friday night when the deceased identified as Idrees Pasha and his two associates Irfan and Syed Zaheer were transporting cattle.
The Rajasthan police has arrested two of the eight accused wanted in the alleged abduction and murder of two Muslim men from Bharatpur in Rajasthan by suspected cow vigilantes in Haryana, an official said on Friday.
Cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi was arrested on Tuesday in connection with communal clashes that erupted in Haryana's Nuh district on July 31, police said.
Bajrangi alias Raj Kumar was arrested from Faridabad on August 15 after a fresh FIR was registered against him at Nuh's Sadar Police Sation on a complaint of Assistant Superintendent of Police Usha Kundu.
The police officer said his claim would be verified.
The incident occurred on Sunday in the Chupanki police station area in Bhiwadi near the Rajasthan-Haryana border where Sabir Khan (17) was hit by the speeding vehicle in which the cow vigilantes were chasing the truck, police said.
The monk claimed that since the closure of the feeding area, the pigeon population has drastically declined.
The family of a 22-year-old youth has accused cow vigilantes of thrashing him to death after branding him a cow smuggler in Nuh district, but the police said he died in a road accident.
The family members of the deceased had named five men linked to the Bajrang Dal in their complaint to the police.
The coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada have been reporting cases of cow vigilantism in the last several years.
The bench also directed every state to file a status report on actions taken to prevent incidents of cow vigilantism.
Cow vigilante Monu Manesar, who was booked by Rajasthan Police for the murder of two Muslim men in February and is also accused of inciting communal hatred in home state Haryana, was arrested Tuesday, officials said.
During the hearing, the bench observed that the instances of vigilantism were actually mob violence, which is a crime.
Mohammad Ayyub Mev was admitted to V S Hospital after he was thrashed by unidentified persons on S G Highway on the night of September 13.
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a plea seeking directions to states to take immediate action against mob lynching and cow vigilantism, particularly against Muslims. The court stated that it was not feasible to "micro-manage" such incidents from Delhi and referred to its 2018 verdict, which issued guidelines to address mob violence and cow vigilantism. The court also noted that the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) criminalizes mob lynching as a separate offence. The plea argued that there was "gross non-compliance" with the 2018 directions, but the court maintained that authorities were bound by its previous rulings.
Irani said: "Everyone should work within the ambit of law. If somebody flouts laws unconstitutionally they will not get support from the BJP."
SC seeks responses from Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The team members said that Dalits are "soft targets" for these vigilante groups.
Rediff.com compiles a list of recent incidents where some people, mainly belonging to the upper castes, took the law into their hands to punish those who allegedly slaughtered or transported cows.
Police said the investigation in the case is still on and so far they have not found any link with cow vigilantes.
'The moment they fall foul of the party in power, they become unsafe. Then nobody can guarantee their safety.'
The development to tweak the 2004 law, cleared during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government, has come following the thrashing of a Muslim man and a woman on suspicion of carrying beef in MP's Seoni district last month.
Cow vigilantes in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh brutally thrashed a man on the suspicion of him hurting a cow.
The counsel claimed that the ground-level situation in these states was worrisome as the cow vigilante groups were resorting to violence there.
The community members have decided not to lift carcasses till they were issued such identity cards to ensure their security.
Beware of fake cow vigilantes, says PM Modi
The court granted the last opportunity to the defaulting states and UTs, warning if they did not file their reports within a week, then their home secretaries will have to appear in person before court.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had strongly rebuked cow vigilantes, saying most of them are 'anti-social' elements who are running 'shops' in the name of cow protection.
A class 12 student was allegedly chased in a car and shot dead in Faridabad on August 23 by a group of five cow vigilantes who mistook the boy for a cattle smuggler, police said on Tuesday.
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