'Gau rakshaks' strike again, this time in Odisha

The group allegedly attacked and beat up veterinary doctor and the station manager, the dairy staff and the driver of a train, in Odisha, for transporting 20 cows

Dealing with cows in India has become a risky act these days. And it has nothing to do with the law of the land, which has nothing against the simple acts of transporting cattle with for legitimate purposes and with legal procedures followed.

The risk comes from the groups who have taken upon themselves the duty of what they call delivering justice and being branded under the heading of what they feel to be a term of honour called 'Gau rakshaks,' which can loosely be translated into protectors of cows.

Whether they are protectors or goons is for each person to decide, but there acts which have included the killing of men, inflicting injuries and stopping work being done legally among other committing violent acts.

And now another such group has sprouted up in the state of Odisha and have again committed acts which fall under the category of illegal.

The group stopped a train carrying 20 milch cows which were being transported by a Noida-based dairy company. The cows were taken off the train in Odisha at the Bhubaneswar station on Wednesday evening by people who claimed to be members of a 'gau raksha' dal. They claimed that the cows were being trafficked illegally.

The veterinary doctor, the station manager, along with the train driver and two employees of the dairy firm who were accompanying the cows were allegedly attacked by the group.

The attack took place at 10 pm, after the Kochuveli-Guwahati Express, which was carrying the animals in its parcel van, from Tamil Nadu to Meghalaya, stopped in Bhubaneswar.

According to reports, Railway SP Sanjay Kaushal confirmed that the attackers beat up the veterinary doctor, the station manager and the dairy staff.

The accused had managed to get away after the attack, by the time the police arrived at the spot.

The firm which had arranged the transport are reported to have all the requisite papers for transporting the cows, but its officials have still been detained.

OneIndia News