'Proud to be a goon': Remorseless Satish Kumar, Gau Raksha Dal chief, booked for thrashing people

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly rebuked the so-called ‘cow vigilantes’ in the country who were responsible for the incidents of violence against Dalits and Muslims in various states, a case has been registered against the chief of Gau Raksha Dal for allegedly thrashing people in the name of cow protection. The FIR was lodged on the basis of a video clip which appeared on social media, showing Gau Raksha Dal members brutally thrashing people, Patiala SSP Gurmeet Chauhan on Monday said. ANI quoted Kumar who said that this has been just done due to media pressure:

This has just been done due to media pressure, nothing else: Gau Raksha Dal Chief Satish Kumar on FIR against him pic.twitter.com/9KcRtCSwVv

— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2016

The Rajpura (Punjab) police on Monday registered an FIR against Gau Raksha Dal chief Satish Kumar under several Sections of the IPC. Among others named in the FIR are Annu and Gurpreet alias Happy. “We are checking the authenticity of the video footage that is with us . The video shows Gau Raksha Dal members brutally thrashing people,” Chauhan was quoted as saying by Tribune India. However, Satish has not been arrested so far. A case under sections 382 (having made preparation for causing death), 384 (committing extortion), 341 (wrongfully restraining any person), including sections 148 and 149 of the IPC was registered, police said. According to a report in India Today, the group works as a “24x7 extra-constitutional force” in Punjab’s Rajpura. The report further quoted Satish Kumar as saying, “I don’t mind if someone calls me a goon for saving the cow. If someone who saves the cow is labelled a goon, I’ll be proud to become the country’s biggest goon.” One look at Kumar’s Facebook profile and you know the man means business. Aiming a pistol at the camera, Kumar’s social media profile is all about eliminating anyone who means harm to cows. Kumar even justified his methods and accused officials of “overlooking cow smuggling.” “Have you ever heard a regional traffic officer fining a vehicle carrying cows? Have police ever caught such a vehicle? What should we do? Do we then let cows get slaughtered?” Kumar said. According to the report, Kumar has his own network of informers and activists. The cow vigilante groups across India have been chided by both the Union government and the Sangh Parivar. The RSS on Sunday asked people to “expose” a handful of anti-social elements spreading violence and trying to disturb social harmony in the name of cow protection, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused them of creating “tension and conflict” in the society. It asked people not to link such “condemnable efforts” of “a few opportunists” with those truly serving and protecting cows. On Sunday, Modi asked people to beware of “fake” cow protectors as they were trying to create “tension and conflict” in the society. He also asked the state governments to take stringent action against them. Modi accused the cow vigilantes of trying to create tension in the society and said they should be exposed and punished. “I want to tell everybody beware of these fake cow protectors. These handful of vigilantes have nothing to do with cow protection, but want to create ‘tanaav’ (tension) and ‘takrav’ (conflict) in the society,” Modi said. “In the name of cow protection, these fake cow protectors are trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the nation. I want the real cow protectors to expose them (fake ones) and the state governments should take stringent action against them,” he added. In several videos uploaded on social media, members of the Gau Raksha Dal (especially in Punjab) were seen thrashing people in the name of cow protection. The notorious group has been posting videos of its attacks on trucks carrying cattle for slaughter.