Crackdown on ‘cow vigilantes’: Gau Raksha Dal chief booked

Patiala (Punjab): In a crackdown on pseudo cow vigilantes, the Patiala police on Monday lodged an FIR against ‘Gau Raksha Dal’ chief Satish Kumar in connection with a social media video showing organization members “brutally” thrashing people in the name of cow protection. The Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurmeet Chauhan confirmed the news to news agency ANI. An FIR was lodged under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC); however Kumar is yet to be arrested. A day ago, 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. In his first comments on the violence against Dalits by cow vigilantes, Prime Minister Modi has also asked the state government to prepare dossiers on the so-called cow protectors as 80 percent of them do illegal activities at night and become cow protectors during the day. “The people, who are troubled by the unity of the society, are in the name of ‘gau rakshaks’ attempting to create friction in society. I urge my fellow countrymen to be aware of such ‘gau rakshaks’,” he said.