This took place on the morning of June 18th, a crowd of 50-100 people from the Bajrang Dal gathered near Sham Masjid, close to the Police Chowki, upon hearing about the incident. The local MLA Geeta Jain, former MLA Narendra Mehta and Shiva Sena (Eknath Shinde) Corporator, Vikram Singh were also present at the scene.

The crowd surrounded the truck chanting Jai Sri Ram slogans, remained until the police intervened to calm the situation. As per reports, an FIR has been filed in relation to the case of cow slaughter, and the meat has been sent for forensic examination. Three people have been taken into custody.

Sadiq Basha, an activist, spoke to Sabrang India about the incident, narrated, “Around 10:30 or 11 am in the morning, I got a call from Naya Nagar that some truck has been reportedly caught with cow meat. I learned that around 50-100 people from Bajrang Dal had surrounded the truck at Sham Masjid, which is located near the local police chowki.” Sadiq narrates that BJP’s local MLA Geeta Jain and ex MLA Narendra Mehta were also present there as slogans of Jai Sri Ram were given. However, the police had calmed the situation and prevented anything further from happening.

Video | Tension at Naya Nagar in Mira Road over a tempo allegedly carrying Cow’s meat | 3 persons taken into custody & meat sent for forensic examination, DCP Gaikwad said. Report by City News Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/0MUTxzTxDO

— MUMBAI NEWS (@Mumbaikhabar9) June 19, 2024

Vikram Pratap Singh, who is a local Corporator of the Shiva Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), spoke to Mira Bhayandar Live, a local news channel, as the mob shouted slogans, saying “Yeh desh Rashtrawadi, Hinduwadi, Sanatan Dharmwadio ka sarkar hai yahan per, yeh sabh nahi chalega.” This country belongs to nationalists, Hindus, Sanatan Dharmis, this won’t work here.

In January, 2023, Mira Road locality of Mumbai had seen a continued violence which saw homes and vehicles of local Muslims were burned and vandalised by a Hindutva mob. This incident had occured when the country was seeing a rise in mob violence against Muslims in the wake of the inauguration of the Ayodhya Temple in Faizabad, UP. The incident at Mira Road then too had seen the incendiary participation of BJP MLAs Geeta Jain and Nitish Rane. Jain were seen leading a mob.

Several incidents of violence against Muslims, involving allegations of cow slaughter, have been reported across the country. In a recent incident in Himachal Pradesh, The Observer Post reported that a Muslim-owned textile shop in Nahan was looted and vandalised by a large mob after the shopkeeper had shared a picture of an animal sacrifice on his WhatsApp status.

Please embed: https://x.com/TheObserverPost/status/1803361865235673412

A video of the incident shows the mob destroying and throwing out the contents of the shop as a crowd cheers under police presence. Police however took steps and managed to close the shop’s shutters to prevent more damage. After this, the crowd marched to the district collector’s office, chanting slogans such as “Goli maaro saalon ko” and “Jai Shri Ram.”

Related:

Four days after BJP government sworn in, Odisha witnesses communal violence, internet ban imposed, journalists barred from reporting

Mira Road: Muslim youth allegedly beaten in custody, denied food as Nitesh Rane tells supporters, “The Government is with you.”

Eve of Ram temple inauguration sees “clashes”, planting of saffron flag atop Church

How and why the Ram Temple is just a political tool for the BJP

Vigilante violence against Muslims continues without rest

The post Tension flare as mob alleges cow slaughter in Mumbai, Himachal Pradesh too witnesses similar mob action appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Both were from Moradabad, and were travelling in a car when the police attempted to pull them over. The situation became volatile when the driver evaded the police according to news reports, leading to the driver losing control, and causing the vehicle to overturn in a field along the roadside. Following this, reports suggest that the two men emerged from the overturned car and allegedly opened fire on the police officers. In response, the police returned fire, which resulted in both men sustaining gunshot wounds. While Sajid is now dead, Babloo is recovering from a bullet injury to his leg and is receiving medical treatment. The police claim to have recovered a car, two country made weapons, cartridges, an electronic weighing machine, and tools used for slaughtering from the scene.

A case has been reportedly filed against the accused under the provisions of IPC Section 307, pertaining to attempted murder, and the Arms Act. The Indian Express has reported that as per authorities, this area has witnessed multiple instances of cow slaughter.

A similar incident was reported by Sabrang India from September, where a young Muslim man hailing from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was shot dead by the police while being transported to a local court. According to the UP Police, they assert that the shooting occurred in self-defence as the suspect allegedly attempted to escape custody and open fire on the police.

Official government data by Uttar Pradesh had revealed earlier this year a total of 10,713 encounters have taken place in the state since 2017. Among these staggering records of custodial deaths, the Meerut Police stands out with the highest count, conducting 3,152 encounters, resulting in the death of 63 criminals and the arrest of 1,708 individuals. Agra Police follows closely behind, having committed 1,844 encounters. Within these encounters, 14 criminals were killed and 4,654 were arrested, about 55 police personnel sustained injuries, as communicated in an official press release from the Uttar Pradesh government.

Furthermore, in 2020, the National Campaign against Torture (NCAT) released its report titled India: Annual Report on Torture 2019 recording the reported instances of custodial torture and violence. The report stipulated that a staggering 1,731 individuals were dead in custody in 2019, which can be summed up to amounting to about five deaths daily. About 1,606 deaths occurred in judicial custody and 125 in police custody. The report further noted with gravity that these figures only barely scratch the surface of the true number and extent pof custodial death and torture in the country.

According to Muslim Mirror, Paritosh Chakma, Director of NCAT noted that out of the 125 deaths in police custody, 60% of the victims were from impoverished and marginalised communities. This group of 60% included 13 victims from Dalit and tribal communities, and 15 from the Muslim minority community. Not only that, there were about 37 fatal victims who were detained for minor offences such as theft, burglary, cheating, illegal liquor selling, and gambling, indicating a correlation with their economic status.

The report noted that Uttar Pradesh was the state with the highest number of police custody deaths, followed by Tamil Nadu and Punjab.

Related:

Police shoot dead a Muslim man in custody

Death behind bars: Justice through the Indian Courts as cases spiral

Hyderabad: Muslim man allegedly subjected to custodial torture on “suspicion of theft” for 5 days, dies in hospital

RSS organises route marches in TN, SC directs state govt to submit guidelines to regulate marches in future

The post Muslim youth shot dead by police for alleged intentions of slaughtering a cow appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The counsel for the applicant submitted that there is no allegation of slaughter against him and that he was not apprehended from the spot. In fact, six cows were recovered from a vehicle and there was no evidence to link the applicant with the crime. The State did not dispute the facts as presented by the applicant’s counsel.

The court noted that the State failed to show any material that indicates that the applicant slaughtered any cow.

“The alleged act cannot be stated to come within the ambit of section 2(d) of U.P. Act No. 1 of 1956. There is no independent witness of the recovery. Mere possession of live cow/bullock by itself cannot amount to committing, abetting, or attempting an offence under the Act No. 1 of 1956,” the court held.

The court further held that mere transportation of the cow from one place to another does not amount to committing, abetting or attempting to commit an offence under the U.P. Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act. The court held that the State has not provided any material to show that any physical injury has been caused to the cow. Keeping the Principle ‘Bail is rule and jail is exception,’ the court decided to grant bail to the accused.

The order may be read here:

In the past as well there have been many instances of misuse of the law which the court has at times tried to rectify. The gruesome murders that have taken place in the name of protecting cows and accusing the deceased of cow slaughter are too many to name. The misuse of the law is quite rampant and it is the courts that need to step in to put a stop to such abuse of law.

On April 12, Agra Police arrested four members of All India Hindu Mahasabha, including its spokesperson Sanjay Singh, for getting an FIR registered against four Muslim men on false cow slaughtering charges on the eve of Ram Navami on March 30. On March 29, the eve of Ram Navami (March 30), Jitendra Kumar, a Hindu Mahasabha leader, filed a complaint alleging he had received information that Rizwan, alias Kalta that three others, were slaughtering a cow in a thicket near Gautam Nagar and were planning to sell the meat. On the basis of this, an FIR was filed and it was later found that the Hindu Mahasabha members butchered cows in order to instigate communal violence during the Ram Navami parade.

On March 28, Allahabad High Court asked DGP, Uttar Pradesh to remind police officers to conduct fair investigation especially in cases pertaining to cow slaughter. The court observed, “it is evident that in the instant case neither any prohibited animal or his flesh has been recovered and simply on the basis of apprehension and suspicion the First Information Report appears to have been lodged and the charge sheet has also been filed.” The court also noted that only cow dung was recovered from the spot which the forensics lab refused to examine.

In August last year as well, the Allahabad High Court observed that mere transportation of a cow and its progeny within the state of Uttar Pradesh is not a violation of any of the provisions of the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act.

Related:

Rajasthan: 2 Muslim men allegedly kidnapped and burnt to death; FIR against Bajrang Dal members

No Permit required for transportation of cow, its progeny within Uttar Pradesh: Allahabad High Court

Two Men stripped on camera, paraded & whipped for allegedly selling beef

Bulandshahr mob-lynching case: SC stays bail granted by Allahabad HC to prime accused Yogeshraj

The post Allahabad HC points out misuse of cow slaughter law appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The accused, Jugadi @Nizamuddin was booked under section 3,5 and 8 of the Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act in Case Crime No. 310/2022, at Reusa Police Station, Sitapur district. The counsel for the applicant, Dharmendra Kumar Gupta, submitted that it was a case of false implication. There are three accused in the case. The Village Chiukidar of the Police station got the information that a prohibited animal had been slaughtered in the sugarcane field of one Jamil and when he arrived at the spot he found a cord and semi digested gobar (cow dung) of the calf. It was also submitted that the police did not recover any prohibited animal or any meat and had only found cow dung. The forensics lab told the police that the lab cannot examine cow dung.

The court was informed that he was earlier granted interim protection which he did not misuse and he also undertook that he will remain present before the trial court whenever required.

The court observed, “it is evident that in the instant case neither any prohibited animal or his flesh has been recovered and simply on the basis of apprehension and suspicion the First Information Report appears to have been lodged and the charge sheet has also been filed.” The court also noted that only cow dung was recovered from the spot which the forensics lab refused to examine.

The court thus granted the applicant pre-arrest bail in terms that in the vent of his arrest within 20 days or on his surrender/ appearance before the trial court, where the case is pending, whichever is earlier, he shall be released forthwith on his executing a personal bond to the tune of Rs.50,000/- with two sureties in the like amount, while also imposing certain conditions.

While concluding the order, the court also made a serious observation:

“Before parting it is observed that instant case is an glaring example of misuse of penal law as neither the prohibited animal nor its flesh, has been recovered from the possession of any accused person or from the spot and only a rope and some amount of cow dung has been collected by the Investigating Officer and there are statement of some witnesses who have claimed to have seen the accused persons going towards the sugarcane field of Jamil along with a calf. Keeping cows and calves as pet animals is a common practice in the villages irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The duty of the State is to ensure fair investigation which in the considered opinion of this Court has not been done in the instant case.”

The court also directed that a copy of this order be sent to DGP, Uttar Pradesh for “taking necessary action in order to remind the investigating officers of their duty to ensure fair investigation in all the criminal cases in general and in the cases pertaining to cow slaughter in particular.”

The order may be read here:

Related:

Cow vigilantism is an extortion bid say Haryana farmers

The poster boy of cow vigilantism, Monu Manesar, is back

Karnataka’s Shame: Cattle trader, a Muslim, beaten to death by cow vigilantes

Haryana: More cow vigilantism incidents were reported in April, state district-level special committees fail to act

The post Allahabad HC calls out misuse of law in cow slaughter case as only cow dung recovered from scene appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Agra police on Wednesday, April 12, arrested four members of All India Hindu Mahasabha, including its spokesperson Sanjay Singh, for getting an FIR registered against four Muslim men on false cow slaughtering charges on the eve of Ram Navami on March 30.

Only last week, the police arrested Imran Qureshi alias Thakur and Shanu alias Illi, both Muslims, who were also allegedly involved in framing the four Muslim men. “The four persons – Sanjay Singh alias Sanjay Jat, Jitendra Kushwaha, Brijesh Bhadouria and Saurabh Sharma – have been arrested on the basis of evidence we have collected against them,” Agra Assistant Commissioner of Police RK Singh said.

Following these four arrests, police are now looking for the remaining three accused, all Muslims. According to investigations so far, it was the five accused Muslim men had enmity with the four named in the false cow slaughter FIR.

On March 29, the eve of Ram Navami (March 30), Jitendra Kumar, a Hindu Mahasabha leader, filed a complaint alleging he had received information that Rizwan, alias Kalta that three others, including Nakeem, an Agra Municipal Corporation employee, and his brothers Vijju, alias Chottu and Shanu were slaughtering a cow in a thicket near Gautam Nagar and were planning to sell the meat. Kumar told the police that he rushed to the spot with his friends, but by then the accused had fled.

It was on the basis of this Kumar’s false complaint, an FIR was lodged against Rizwan and three others at the Etmaddulah police station under the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act. At the spot, the police allegedly found cow meat, however, according to police, they found that the four men named in the FIR were not present at the spot. The final conclusion that the complaint was false was arrived at n on the basis of human intelligence, surveillance, CCTV footage and other evidence added the police.

On April 6, police arrested Qureshi and Illi, both residents of Agra for questioning. During the process, Qureshi and Illi, say the police, admitted to the conspiracy of framing the four Muslim men as Nakeem had complained to the police about them in the past, following which they were arrested.

Meanwhile, predictably, the All India Hindu Mahasabha state unit president Rishi Trivedi has said their leaders were being falsely implicated. “They (Mahasabha leaders) had informed police about cow slaughtering and reached the spot before police. Now, police have booked them in the case. It appears to be part of a conspiracy. Sanjay and others booked in the case were reaching the state capital, Lucknow, on Thursday to hold a press conference on this issue, but the police arrested them today,” said Trivedi stated The Indian Express.

Related:

Hindu Mahasabha Members Arrested for Allegedly Slaughtering Cow to Incite Communal Violence in Agra During Ram Navami Parade

The post In false cow slaughter cases, four Hindu Mahasabha members held: UP Police appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Since the start of April 2023, rising incidents have been reported from the state of Haryana where Cow vigilantes or members of extremist Hindutva outfits, such as Bajrang Dal, have assaulted drivers of the trucks transporting cattle. In most of these cases, the drivers of these trucks belonged to the Muslim community. Cow vigilantism, or Hindu-tva mob violence against Muslims who transport or slaughter cows, has becoming dangerously commonplace in the new India, especially in northern India. Despite there being an alarming spike in such violence, the union government still does not collect official statistics on the number of such crimes reported nationally. 

In April, 3 such incidents were reported from the state of Haryana. On April 1, in Panipat, Haryana, a mob of cow vigilantes allegedly assault two truck drivers for transporting cattle. A video had been uploaded where the two victims of assault were seem sitting on the road, while a mob was standing around them, raising slogans of stopping the slaughter of cows. The mob also raised the slogans of how they will not stop till the time cow slaughter is stopped. Even though the faces of the members of the mob are visible, it remains unclear if any action was taken. 

The video can be viewed here: 

Location: Panipat, Haryana

Cow vigilantes assault two truck drivers for transporting cattle. pic.twitter.com/8raCl52Uwt — HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) April 1, 2023

Another incident, dated April 9, was reported from Haryana where members of the Bajrang Dal led cow vigilante group had a high-speed chase to stop a truck that was transporting cattle. It has been alleged that the vigilante group assaulted the drivers too. Pictures of the truck drivers and burst tires of the said truck were uploaded on social media, along with a picture of the cow vigilante mob standing along with the truck. The post can be viewed here: 

Location: Haryana

Bajrang Dal led cow vigilante group led a high-speed chase to stop a truck that was transporting cattle and assaulted its drivers. pic.twitter.com/W4OaeVWfIj — HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) April 9, 2023

In a separate incident, dated April 11, reported from K.M.P Expressway, Haryana, various Cow vigilante militias, including Bajrang Dal members, brutally thrashed a Muslim driver for transporting cattle. A picture of the Muslim driver, wearing a blood stained t-shirt, along with a picture of the big mob of approximately 20-30 members standing with the truck was uploaded on the social media. The post can be viewed here: 

This is from #KMPExpressway, #Haryana.

Various Cow vigilante militias, including #BajrangDal members, brutally thrashed a #Muslim driver for transporting cattle.#HateCrime pic.twitter.com/QJaSg9qsJ7 — Hate Detector ? (@HateDetectors) April 11, 2023

In another picture, uploaded on the same day, three police officers can be seen posing for pictures with the members of cow vigilante militia who assaulted the driver. The post can be viewed here: 

Police officers posing for pictures with the members of cow vigilante militia who assaulted the driver.#Haryana #HaryanaPolice #HateCrime pic.twitter.com/Lv9TvzKt3d

— Hate Detector ? (@HateDetectors) April 11, 2023

It is shocking that such incidents of assault have been reported even after Haryana directed districts to form a special committee mandated by state law for cow protection in March 2023 to crack down on private vigilante groups. It is important to note that in all of these incidents, the mob has quite readily posted pictures of themselves with the trucks, in open impunity and defiance. It is important to note that the Hindustan Times reported on March 11, days after the deaths of two Muslim men from Rajasthan in the state sparked outrage, that the lack of such committees is one of several factors allowing vigilantism to thrive, which has resulted in groups targeting people in the name of cow smuggling, often leaving victims severely injured or even dead. The family of the two Muslim men from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, Junaid and Nasir, who were found dead in a car in Haryana’s Bhiwani, on February 15, had accused the Bajrang Dal and a “gau rakshak” (cow protection) gang led by Mohit Yadav, who also goes by the name Monu Manesar and was said to be active in the area. A trend, unchecked by men and women in powerful positions of constitutional governance, appears to be sweeping across large parts of the country. In incident after incident, the transportation of cattle, the suspicion of possessing or consuming beef, or the transportation or possession of cattle carcasses has been enough provocation for a lynch mob to appear out of nowhere and inflict heinous violence. Those accused of these provocations, who are almost always Muslims or Dalits, have been subjected to the most brute violence. Despite the fact that the death toll in these incidents is already high—with figures touching double digits and rising, no concrete action is being taken. Image Courtesy: outlookindia.com

Related:

Junaid Khan murder case: A chronology of events surrounding the case Ujjain Horror: Muslim man allegedly burnt to death by five cops Bajrang Dal convener mastermind of Bihar Sharif violence, say police Muslims attacked while offering Namaz in Haryana Section 144 imposed in Jamshedpur; arrests made in Bihar and Maharashtra over instances of violence during Ram Navami Violence breaks out after controversial route of a procession passes Mosque in Karnataka’s Haveri, 15 detained MP: A group of 4-5 men stabbed an Imam while he was on his bike Two Muslim youth killed in Jharkhand, one by a cop, other by a mob Noida cops suspended for inaction in 2 yr-old hate crime against elderly Muslim man Curb on internet, SMS in Nuh as protests demanding justice for Junaid-Nasir escalate India Cries for Justice Junaid Nasir murder: Magistrate summons relatives, villagers of victims for breach of peace

The post Haryana: More cow vigilantism incidents were reported in April, state district-level special committees fail to act appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday stated that some members of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha butchered cows in order to instigate communal violence during the Ram Navami parade in Agra.

On the eve of Ram Navami, Agra Police arrested four youngsters suspected of cow killing. During a raid during Ram Navami celebrations in Gautam Nagar in the Etmaduddaula region of Agra, the youngsters were apprehended.

According to the police, Sanjay Jat, the Hindu Mahasabha’s national spokesperson, is the chief conspirator. Many others are also reported to be part of the plot. A man named Jitendra Kushwaha reported the cow slaughter at Etmaduddaula police station.

According to DCP Suraj Rai, several facts came to light during the police inquiry. The police arrested two people identified in the FIR: Imran alias Thakur and Shanu.

Shanu informed police that he arrived at Mehtab Bagh at 8 p.m. on March 29 and encountered Imran, Salman, and Sairo. They then decided to slaughter a cow that was wandering about in the street. That’s when Shanu and Imran went to inform Jitendra Kushwaha.

“(Mahasabha leader) Sanjay Jat is the main conspirator. His followers and friends slaughtered a cow in the Mehtab Bagh area on the night of March 29 and told party member Jitendra Kushwaha to file a case against Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nakim and Mohammad Shanu. The police arrested Imran Qureshi, a fourth suspect, and Shanu the next day. Later, the investigation revealed that the named accused had nothing to do with the crime. An inquiry suggests that Sanjay had an enmity with some people and wanted to implicate them in the case,” The Telegraph quoted R.K. Singh, additional commissioner of police of the Chatta area of Agra, as saying.

“The cow was slaughtered on the eve of Ram Navami to disturb social harmony. We had unconfirmed reports about such an incident but got conclusive evidence when they tried to implicate some innocent people,” another cop said.

Some Hindu Mahasabha workers complained about Jitendra Kushwaha and Sanjay Jat, claiming that they personally had the cow slain in order to disrupt Agra’s communal peace on Ram Navami.

Courtesy: The Daily Siasat

The post Hindu Mahasabha Members Arrested for Allegedly Slaughtering Cow to Incite Communal Violence in Agra During Ram Navami Parade appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A Court in Gujarat’s Tapi District recently sentenced a 22-year-old man to life imprisonment for illegally transporting cattle from the state of Maharashtra. While pronouncing his sentence, the Sessions Judge S. V. Vyas said that all problems of the earth will be solved and the well-being of the earth will be established the day no drop of blood of cow drops on the earth, reported LiveLaw. Presiding over the District Court, Tapi, Judge Vyas further added that religion is born out of a cow as religion is in the form of ‘Vrishabha’ (bull), and the son of a cow is called ‘Vrishabha’.

Also reporting this case, The Indian Express, further provided that the Sessions court judge stressed on the need to protect cows all over the country, saying “science has proved houses made of cow dung remain unaffected by atomic radiation”. He had also observed that cow’s urine can cure many incurable diseases. This judgment was pronounced in November while the order has made available recently. The judge in his order had expressed displeasure over slaughtering of cows and noted a cow is “our mother”, not just an animal.

The Court also cited a Sanskrit shloka that asserts that if cows become extinct, the universe will cease to exist, and that cows, including their six organs, are responsible for the origin of the Vedas. To emphasize that killing cows is prohibited, the Court alluded to two further Shlokas that can be roughly translated as follows:

“Where cows remain happy all wealth and property is gained. Where cows remain unhappy wealth and property remains unhappy and disappear…Cow is the mother of Rudra, daughter of Vasu, sister of Aditiputras and treasure of Dhrutroop Amrit.”

Commenting sharply on the slaughter of the animals, the Court also stated that cow murder and illegal transit are a disgrace to civilized society, and that the cow is not just an animal, but also the mother and that is why it is given the mother’s name. The judge went further and said that a cow is repository of compassion, a‘living planet of 68 crore holy places and thirty-three crore gods.”  According to the judge, a cow’s commitment to the entire Universe transcends description. When there is no drop of cow blood in the world, all issues will be solved and the earth’s well-being will be established. The judge also reportedly lamented that while there is a lot of rhetoric about cow protection and cow rearing, but it is rarely put into practice.

The Court concluded that the prosecution had been able to prove that the accused was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident, from which Cows and their offspring were recovered, and that there was no reason for the police to falsely implicate the accused in the case after reviewing the evidence presented. The Court also ruled that the prosecution had been able to establish that the accused lacked a certificate from a competent authority or written permission to transport livestock, thus the court had to assume that the accused was transporting cattle for slaughter.

After the trial, the Sessions court found him guilty under relevant sections of the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act, 2011, Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2017, and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The Court further stated in its 24-page ruling, written in Gujarati, that in the current scenario, 75% of the cow’s wealth has been lost or destroyed, leaving only 25% of its wealth.

The Accused has been held guilty under Sections 5, 6, 7 of the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act, 2011, Section-11 (1) (d),(e), (f),(h) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, Section 2 of Gujarat Control of Animal Transportation Order, 1975 and Section 4 of Gujarat Essential Commodities And Animal Control Act, 2015 as well as section-125 (e) of Central Motor Vehicle (11th Amendment)Act,2015 and he has been sentenced to imprisonment for life along with a fine of Rs. 5 lakhs.

In 2017, the state government had introduced a stringent anti-cow slaughter law in the form of the ‘Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2017’, which has the provision for life term for anyone found guilty of cow slaughter or having any direct involvement in such illegal act. Through this new law, the maximum punishment for cow slaughter was prescribed as life term or 14 years, but not less than seven years. Along with the jail term, anyone convicted of cow slaughter have to pay a fine ranging from Rs1 lakh to Rs5 lakh.

Brief background of present case

In August 2020, the Tapi police arrested Mohammad Aamin Anjum, a resident of Maharashtra’s Malegaon town, for allegedly trying to transport 16 cows and bullocks in a truck to Gujarat. When the police had intercepted the truck, a cow and a bullock were already dead as there was not enough space or food in the vehicle for the cattle. Anjum had fled the spot after abandoning his truck, but he was later nabbed.

He was booked, inter alia, under the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2011, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Gujarat Essential Commodities and Cattle (Control) Act, 2005 as well as the Central Motor Vehicles (Eleventh Amendment) Rules, 2015.

The judgment can be viewed here.

Portals and newspapers have reported on this November 2022 order by a Tapi court. It pertains to a case of one Mohammad Ameen, who was arrested in August 2020 for transporting 16 cows, allegedly without proper arrangement for the animals to sit, eat or drink. In addition to the life imprisonment and what Bar and Bench calls ‘several lesser punishments,’ Ameen was also fined Rs 5 lakh by the court.

Politics of Cow Slaughter Laws and its Misuse

India is a country with myriad number of legislations in place to govern its citizens. As society is progressing, laws fitting to the needs of the society are being brought in with the aim of keeping up with the dynamic needs of the people. These laws also contain with them such procedures and burden of proofs that ensure that the rights of the accused are maintained and protected till they are proven guilty. Even for the crime of murder and rape, the burden of proof is on the State, and the fundamental principle of natural justice is followed- the accused remains innocent until proven guilty.

In the recent times, this principle has been reversed. With more and more weaponisedand discriminatory laws, such as the Cow slaughter laws and the anti-conversion laws, being introduced, it is no exaggeration to say that nobody fully understands these laws now.

In the case of India’s cow slaughter laws, it is pertinent to note that there is no constitutional mandate to prohibit beef consumption, not on its transportation, sale or purchase in India. Yet, stringent laws are being introduced in many states and minorities, to target most especially livelihood options of Muslims and Dalits.

Since states are enacting their own laws, there is a lack of uniformity amongst the legislations, with laws ranging from a complete prohibition in some states, to no ban in others, and partial restrictions in others. Some states prohibit the consumption of beef, while others do not. There are slaughter bans on some bovine species but not others, on some cattle of a certain age but not others, on some cattle of a certain gender but not the rest. There are limits on beef possession in certain states and no clarity in others, as well as transport bans in some regions and regulations on time, temperature, and carrying conditions in others. None of it makes a coherent kind of jurisprudence, making it easier for the judgements that often seem irrational to be delivered.

This is not the first time that the Gujarat sessions court has given a judgement where there is a clear misuse of law as well as complete ignorance of the legislative procedures and cross-checks set under the principles of natural justice. The state of Gujarat is determined to put these twisted laws into action. Before we look at previous judgements on the same lines, Sabrangindia’s special investigation into the ‘missing cows and bullocks in Gujarat’ tells its own story. In August 2020, a two part investigation titled, The Missing Cows of Gujarat detailed ‘How Cow Protection Laws have failed to protect the animal in the state. The article pertinently noted that,

“Gujarat’s farmers, hindered by an unrealistic legislation steeped in rhetoric and a dishonest objective, are illegally culling and disposing off the bovine animals: a close scrutiny of the 2012 Livestock Census data figures on breeding cows and female calves, the expected population are revealing: whereas in 2019 the figures of cows in the state should have been 114.04 lakhs, in reality only 76.26 lakhs cows were reported in the census.  The data shows that around 37.78 lakh cows went missing during the period, which means these were illegally culled and disposed of by the farmers.   The missing cow phenomenon was not a one-time aberration but consistent.” 

The second part, Part II: Disappearing Bullocks, Missing Cows, how Gujarat’s Farmers dodge an impracticable Cow Protection Law analyses how, among other aspects,

“How even the Supreme Court’s endorsement of a stringent amendment to the Gujarat Cattle Preservation Act in 2005, has failed to protect either bullocks, male calves or cows, never mind the political rhetoric behind the law. he disappearance of Gujarat’s cows in the past seventy years was detailed in the first part of this Investigation. Part II of this exclusive data-driven study reveals that during the census period 2012-2019, around 56.42 lakh males (bullocks) were culled and eliminated from the population illegally, which included 25.27 lakh native breed plus 31.15 lakhs crossbred males. Considering the 37.8 lakhs missing cows described in the earlier article, the Gujarat state, which claims to be a serious protector of cow progeny, failed to save 94.22 lakhs cattle with an average elimination rate of one lakh cattle every month. Is  the state not aware of this persistent culling that has resulted in these ‘disappearances’?  “

Clearly, something is happening at the grassroots with catelliers taking decisions out of sync with this stringent legislation!

Other such cases

In July 2019, a man was tried and convicted for cow slaughter after a neighbor had accused him of stealing his calf and slaughtering it to serve at his daughter’s wedding. Rather than being accused of theft, he was investigated for the crime of slaughter. Despite the fact that the prosecution had no proof, and the Forensic Science Laboratory in Rajkot couldn’t even confirm that the meat served at the wedding dinner was beef, the accused was convicted. In the said case, the Sessions Court judge, Hemant Kumar Dave, had stated that the accused must prove that the meat contained in the biryani was not obtained by slaughtering the calf. Thus, the onus of proving was put on the accused. He was then convicted for ten years.

In September 2019, the above-mentioned sentence was suspended by an embarrassed Gujarat High Court with the judge using ‘judicial discretion’, and the man was ordered to be freed. The government said it would appeal. Thus, not only the sessions court unlawful and unmindful order disrupted the life of the accused, it also put more unnecessary pressure on the already burdened judiciary of the our country.

This brings us back to the question: are these rules and laws being misused?

In this case, where the accused has been granted a life term sentence and the judge has written essays on the importance of cows in the sustenance of our world, it will not be wrong to observe that such a selective and irrational application of law are driven by blind religious beliefs and have no basis in rationality or science.

Cow protection is not a religious issue, and unfortunately, it is being made into one. Extremist Hindu outfits are using the issue of cow slaughter to blame and otherise the Muslim and Dalit community. As the general election approach, the extremist Hinduvta outfits are pushing their communal agenda with more strength.

A deep analysis of the cow slaughter laws in place in multiple states of India can be read here.

Related:

Cow Slaughter Prevention Laws in India

If India is the ‘mother of democracy’ should not dissent be the first born child?

Cow vigilantes attack truck driver in Amritsar

DGPs reports flag radical Hindu and Islamist outfits as issues in law and order

Court orders 12 UP cops to be booked for murder of farmer: Cow Vigilantism

Gujarat: ‘Cow Dung Protects From Atomic Radiation’, Says Local Court While Sentencing Youth to Life

The post 22-year-old jailed for life, Gujarat court comments on how cow’s urine can cure many incurable diseases & how problems on earth will be solved the day cow slaughter is stopped appeared first on SabrangIndia.

AGRA: As many as twelve police personnel, including three sub-inspectors, were booked on January 22 for the ‘murder’ (section 302, Indian Penal Code-IPC) of 42-year-old farmer Zeeshan Haider, earlier accused of “cow slaughter”. This was following an order of the court of the chief judicial magistrate in Saharanpur, on a petition filed by Haider’s wife Afroz Begum, ordering the Deoband SHO to “register a case under relevant sections and provide a copy of it to the court within 24 hours” reported The Times of India.

The incident dates back to September 2021 when Haider’s wife had alleged that the local police had simply picked up her husband from their house and killed him.

The police in a contradictory version, had stated that following a “tip-off” of cow slaughter, they raided an area in a forest where Haider and a few others were found with “country made pistols”. “They fired at the police team and Haider was struck by a bullet from one of their weapons. He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed,” cops had claimed. Meanwhile, the cops’ version was persistently and strongly contested by Haider’s family.

“My husband had 40 bigha land and two licenced weapons. Why should he keep an illegal weapon?” his wife said. She approached the local court in November 2021. The Allahabad high court had only recently directed the lower court to “dispose of the case soon”. Haider was a resident of Thitki village under Deoband police limits. SHO (Deoband), Hirday Narayan Singh, said, “Following the court order, a case under IPC section 302 (murder) has been registered. A probe is being conducted.”

Janisar Ahmed, the lawyer representing Haider’s family, said, “In his judgment, the judge had observed that ‘it’s surprising that even after being arrested by police, there was an illegal weapon in the possession of the accused farmer for a long time. And the bullet was fired from that weapon itself. When the accused men were together and the police team was in another direction, then the fact that the accused shot each other with their weapons seems laughable’.”

Related:

UP: More than a third of NSA cases about cow slaughter, majority quashed by HC

An ‘encounter’ in UP: Identical injuries, allegations of ‘cow slaughter’, Muslim daily wagers in jail?

Mass Arson over Rumour on Cow Slaughter: MP Court Acquits 9

The post Court orders 12 UP cops to be booked for murder of farmer: Cow Vigilantism appeared first on SabrangIndia.

An FIR has been filed 5 policeman from Badaun, Uttar Pradesh for brutally torturing a Muslim youth in his early 20s under the suspicion of cattle theft for the purpose of slaughter. It has been reported that he was made subject to electric shocks and a stick was inserted in his rectum.

The doctors at the hospital reportedly said that the patient was getting seizures regularly as his nervous system has been affected severely, possibly because of a shock. “Since the case is under investigation, we can’t provide further details about the medical examination report,” a doctor told TOI.

According to his sister-in-law, “Police thrashed my brother-in-law the whole night. After realizing that they had picked the wrong person, they handed him Rs 100 and sent him back after torturing him for two straight days. Since then, he has been getting seizures almost every day. On Friday (June 3) his condition deteriorated and we had to rush him to the hospital. He has been severely injured and unable to walk or speak”, reported Siasat.

On May 2, 2022, the victim who is reportedly a vegetable vendor was picked up and detained by the police on his way to work. It is important to note that the victim does not have any prior criminal record.

 Superintendent of Police (SP) (city) Praveen Singh Chauhan said, “The allegations against five policemen were found to be true during a preliminary investigation. We have registered an FIR against them for wrongful confinement and torture. Steps are being taken to suspend them and an impartial investigation will be carried out in this case. We are also supporting the family to ensure the best possible treatment for the victim”, reported Deccan Herald.

A case has been reportedly filed against the police officers under IPC section 342 (wrongful confinement) and section 33 (voluntarily causing hurt) along with others.

CJI NV Ramana on Custodial Torture

In August 2021, at an event organized by the National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA), Chief Justice N.V. Ramana reportedly said, “The threat to human rights and bodily integrity are the highest in police stations. Custodial torture and other police atrocities are problems which still prevail in our society. In spite of constitutional declarations and guarantees, lack of effective legal representation at the police stations is a huge detriment to arrested/detained persons. The decisions taken in these early hours will later determine the ability of the accused to defend himself. If, as an institution, the judiciary wants to garner the faith of the citizens, we have to make everyone feel assured that we exist for them. For the longest time, the vulnerable population has lived outside the system of justice. The prevailing obstacles like lengthy, painstaking and expensive formal justice processes add to the woes of realising the goals of ‘Access to Justice’. As an institution, the toughest challenge before us is to break these barriers first.”

Judicial Precedent:

In the case of Paramvir Singh Saini vs Baljit Singh and Ors (S.L.P Crl. No. 3543 of 2020), while considering the installation of CCTVs in all police stations across the country to check State abuse, the Supreme Court’s three Judge Bench (Justices Rohinton Nariman, K.M Joseph and Aniruddha Bose) passed a detailed and specific order directing states and the centre to take concrete steps towards ensuring that every police station in the country and all investigating agencies have CCTV cameras in their premises

The bench ordered setting up of state and district level oversight committees that will be responsible for making sure that these CCTV cameras are procured, installed and function so they can be of use during trial. In September 2020, the court had impleaded all the States and Union Territories to find out the exact position of CCTV cameras at each Police Station as well as the constitution of Oversight Committees in accordance with the 2018 Order in Shafi Mohammad v. State of Himachal Pradesh (2018) 5 SCC 311. As per action taken reports filed by 14 states and 2 union territories, the court observed that the majority of the Compliance Affidavits and Action Taken Reports failed to disclose the exact position of CCTV cameras in each Police Station and also did not disclose any details on oversight committees.

In March 2021, the top court expressed its displeasure as both the Centre and the States/UTs did not take the matter seriously. A Bench comprising Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, BR Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy said, “We reiterate that these are the matters of utmost importance concerning the citizens of this country under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”

The top court came down heavily on Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and was most displeased at Bihar’s state of conditions. It noted that nothing has moved forward in these states in terms of installing cameras, allocating necessary budget, etc.

Further, the court also directed the central government to allocate its budget accordingly for CCTV camera installation in different investigation agencies like CBI, ED, etc. It had strictly reiterated that “after budgetary allocation is made within the one month given by us, our earlier orders will be implemented in letter and spirit within a period of six months from the date on which budgetary allocation is made.”

Police misconduct such as brutality, using excessive force, different methods of torture, humiliation, targeting the most marginalised, although does not go unnoticed, rarely attracts penal punishment. Police reforms have been long recognised especially in Prakash Singh and Ors v. Union of India and Ors (2006) 8 SCC 1, in which the Supreme Court came up with seven directives to kick start such reforms and re-shape the police force’s functioning mechanism.

Amongst the seven directives, the most important to the theme is “Police Complaints Authority” to be set up at the State and district level to inquire into public complaints against police officers of and above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police in cases of “serious misconduct by the police personnel, which would include incidents involving death, grievous hurt or rape in police custody.”

“The head of the State level Complaints Authority shall be chosen by the State Government out of a panel of names proposed by the Chief Justice; the head of the district level Complaints Authority may also be chosen out of a panel of names proposed by the Chief Justice or a Judge of the High Court nominated by him. These Authorities may be assisted by three to five members depending upon the volume of complaints in different States/districts, and they shall be selected by the State Government from a panel prepared by the State Human Rights Commission/Lok Ayukta/State Public Service Commission. The panel may include members from amongst retired civil servants, police officers or officers from any other department, or from the civil society”, read the judgment authored by Justice Y.K. Sabharwal.

Moreover, in a landmark judgment given by the Supreme Court in the case of D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (AIR 1997 SC 610) with respect to an increasing number of custodial deaths in India, the Court laid down 11 specific requirements and procedures that the police and other agencies have to follow for the arrest, detention and interrogation of any person. guidelines were made binding by the court by stating that failure to comply with these would make an official liable for departmental action and also for contempt of court. It was further held that these requirement flow from Articles 21 and 22 (1) of the Constitution and need to be strictly followed. These were to be followed not just by the police department but other law enforcement agencies.

However, the guidelines are being more or less violated and non-compliance of the same does not invite any serious implications.  It’s time these guidelines take the form of legislation or gets inducted in the Code of Criminal Procedure with meaningful implications. After all, violations of the legislature truly intend to safeguard a person’s right to life.

Related:

Mumbai: Dalit youth tied and beaten to death with an iron rod!
UP: Goons carve trishul on a man’s face!
Hate Watch: Dalit man thrashed, dragged like an animal by so called “upper caste” goons
Hate Watch: Dalit, Covid health worker, killed for sporting moustache in Rajasthan
Dalits attacked by 300 men in UP village, 13 upper-caste men arrested

The post UP cops electrocute Muslim youth, insert stick in his rectum, violate judicial precedents on torture appeared first on SabrangIndia.