Sir — We have yet another shocking case of cow vigilantism and this time from Rajasthan. The beating of five persons transporting milch cows, leading to the death of a 55-year-old man, Pehlu Khan, was not surprising even if it was shocking. However, the more pertinent bit is that one Hindu driver was let off by the gang, even though he was as much a part of the crew transporting the cattle.
Responding to concerns that Pehlu Khan was killed by cow vigilantes, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in the Rajya Sabha that the incident had been misreported. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the BJP to deny that it supports such vigilante action, given the systematic persecution of meat traders in certain States. If one place of an administration is seen to be either passive or supportive of cow vigilantism, it will stoke similar fires elsewhere in the country.