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Tricks of a trade -Divya Trivedi
-Frontline

Cattle traders see a nexus between cow vigilantes and animal rights organisations in Delhi, where vigilantes unleashed violence in April. In the past year, 40,000 animals seized by them were not returned to the owners, and traders believe that they were sold.

A PLANNED and brutal assault on cattle traders in Kalkaji in Delhi on April 22 by a mob of gau rakshaks (cow protectors) has brought to the fore the issue of cow vigilantism that has been rampant in the capital. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power at the Centre in 2014, instances of violence by gau rakshaks have increased in Delhi.

However, representatives of the Buffalo Traders Welfare Association say the seizure of animals and the harassment of cattle traders by animal rights organisations go back a long way. In most cases, first information reports (FIRs) were registered and court proceedings initiated, but they never grabbed media attention. What seems to have changed in the past three years is the degree and nature of the violence against traders while transporting cattle from other States.

“Earlier the moment we reached the borders of Delhi, we would think we were safe, but not in the past few years. Incidents of our vehicles being intercepted by members of the People for Animals or the SGACC [Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre], who call themselves gau rakshaks, are brought to our notice every other day,” said Aquil Qureishi, president of the association.

The attack in Kalkaji attracted attention thanks to a video recording of the incident made by the NDTV reporter Radhika Bordia, who was passing by. As the video went viral, the police authorities were pressed into action and the media took note. In some incidents earlier, the transporters and drivers, too scared even to register a complaint, quietly slipped away.

On April 22, Rizwan, Aasu and Kamil left Pataudi village in Haryana’s Gurgaon disrrict in a truck with 13 buffaloes for Asia’s largest cattle market in Ghazipur, on the outskirts of Delhi, in Uttar Pradesh. Every day, many vehicles carrying livestock bought from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan make their way to the Ghazipur market where they are sold for various purposes, including slaughter. The transport of buffaloes, goats and sheep is not illegal under the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act, 1994, which bans the slaughter of cows, calves, bulls and bullocks in the capital. As the men neared the Kalkaji temple in Delhi, a car screeched to a halt in front of the truck, forcing Rizwan, who was driving it, to come to a sudden stop. Some 15 to 20 men soon emerged from cars, which seemed to have arrived at the spot in a planned manner. They pulled the men out of the truck and thrashed them with sticks and iron rods.

“They even pulled down the pants of one of them to ascertain his religion,” said Ehtesham Hashmi, the lawyer for the victims. Significantly, not just Muslims but people from various other communities, such as Sikh, Rajput, Bhaat, Banjare, Jaat, Gujjar, Bheel and Bhopa, are engaged in the cattle trade.

The gau rakshaks snatched their phones, some Rs.7,000 and the receipt of the purchase of animals from Pataudi. In a written complaint to the District Commissioner of Police (DCP), South East, the victims said they were abused with disparaging words about their community and asked not to enter Delhi again. “The men who identified themselves as PFA members accused them of transporting cows for slaughter and tried to incite the public to join them in beating up the men. Had it been any other place, the chances of these men being lynched, like Pehlu Khan [a cattle trader who was beaten to death in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on April 1], would have been high,” said Ehtesham. FIRs were registered against Aasu, Rizwan and Kamil under Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. They were taken by the police to the AIIMS Trauma Centre and then arrested. “It took us more than a day to get them out on bail,” said Ehtesham. On the contrary, the gau rakshaks were let off with mild charges under IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (wrongful restraint).

Transporters of livestock are routinely stopped by vigilantes holding ID cards and even posing as the police. They not only take money from the transporters but also seize the cattle. Traders say the cattle are seldom returned to their rightful owners. In August 2015, a truck carrying buffaloes and sheep was intercepted at Chilla village in Mayur Vihar and the men who were in the truck were stoned and beaten severely. Most of the cattle were released and two animals, which were hit by stones thrown by a crowd of around 200, died. Members of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took away the remaining cattle.

Shashank Sharma, Gaurav Gupta and Saurabh Gupta of the PFA, who are alleged to be involved in the Kalkaji attack, are not first-time offenders. Their visiting cards bear the home address of PFA chief Maneka Gandhi, who is the Union Minister for Women and Child Development. Recounting the incident, Radhika wrote in her blog: “Another man standing there said, ‘Hum PFA ke hai, Maneka Gandhi ka group, Ashoka Road se (We are from the PFA, Maneka Gandhi’s group, from Ashoka Road).” She added: “Nothing I saw last night had to do with animals or of any cruelty against them. What I saw were bloodthirsty men who have now brought the familiar pattern of frightening cow vigilantism into the heart of Delhi and a police whose only actions were directed at the victims who have now been arrested.”

In a Facebook live video, Saurabh Gupta admitted to his involvement in the assault. He said that he and his brother Gaurav were neither named in the police complaint nor arrested as reported by the media. He also claimed that the Delhi Police had supported them in the entire matter. “My brother and I have been falsely targeted. We only saved the animals. We were not arrested at all. We made a call to the PCR [police control room] that cows were being transported. We will save buffaloes until we die. We didn’t do anything wrong, we are proud of it. I am emboldened by this whole episode. Anybody who sees buffaloes in this condition will definitely beat the traders. The Delhi Police have supported us throughout this episode. We should have been praised and given an award for this, instead we are being targeted. Only Shashank Sharma’s name is in the police complaint. I am proud of him and his mother, Vandana Sharma, who reached the spot with us. Me and my brother’s names are not there anywhere in the police complaint. We are eight to 10 people who roam the streets at night to catch the trucks. We spared the kasais [butchers] not because we have any sympathy for them but because if they died then we would be blamed,” he said in the video.

The Public Relations Officer for DCP, South East, Sarita Vihar, told Frontline: “If the MLC [medico-legal case] shows that the injuries on the Muslim traders were severe, then we have no problem registering a stricter FIR against the attackers, but at present such is not the case. In any case, if anybody is engaged in crime, we will definitely take strict action against them as per law.” He added that it was not wrong to beat up a badmaash [rogue].

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