Apex court’s directive against fake gau rakshaks is timely. The Government must act upon
The Supreme Court’s direction to the Centre, to take tough measures to curb increasing instances of cow vigilantism in the country could not have come a day too soon. What is reassuring is that besides pulling up the Government to take stern action against the cow vigilantes, it sought to offer some suggestions to prevent the crime. The court went a step ahead to direct the respective State Governments and Union Territories to appoint a senior police officer as the nodal officer in each district to deal with these cases. It also asked the chief secretaries and DGPs to file status reports on action taken against criminal elements, who take the law into their hands in the name of protecting cows. Indeed, in the past one year, there have been a series of incidents, where self-proclaimed custodians of the cow have taken the law into their hands and have resorted to lynching people, mostly minorities. There may be numerous instances where mob killings have happened on mere suspicion of cows being preserved or ferried away. This year itself, there have been more than 20 cases of cow-related violence across the country. last month, two youths were lynched in West Bengal by a cow vigilante group who claimed that youths were smuggling cow. Earlier in June, in the same State, three people were killed on mere suspicion of cattle theft. last month itself, in Bihar, three men were beaten up by activists on the suspicion of transporting cow meat in a truck. It must be accepted that there are genuine cow protectors, who operate within the ambit of the law, but there are also anti-social elements, who breach the law to create disharmony in the garb of gau raksha. Such elements must be identified and punished. It is hoped that the Government will take a grim view of the situation, pull up its socks and follow up on the apex court’s order. Both, the Union Government and the State Governments must come together and chalk out a strong action plan to deal with this growing menace. More than anything else, it is the utmost duty of the police to remain vigilant and to catch hold of those undesirable elements, who have been misusing their status to fan communal disharmony among the people. Nevertheless, the apex court’s remarks, are in line with what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again retaliated that killing people in the name of ‘gau bhakti’ is not acceptable. Similar sentiments were echoed from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, who indeed used some harsh words and called upon to distinguish between gau rakshaks and “undesirable elements”. Such sharp condemnation of rumormongers is welcome but the same zeal must also be reflected in overhauling India’s policing and judicial system, which is responsible for maintaining law and order.