Cow vigilantism in J&K: Five, including 9-yr-old girl, from a family of nomads beaten by gau rakshaks; 4 arrested

Amid the rising tide of incidents of unwarranted cow vigilantism by civilians, comes another one, in Jammu and Kashmir. Five people of a family, including a 9-year-old girl, were injured in an attack by gau rakshaks or self-styled cow vigilantes in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to NDTV, the incident took place on Friday evening when a nomad family, moving with their livestock near the Talwara area, were intercepted by a large group of gau rakshaks and beaten up with iron rods. Four members of the gau rakshak group were arrested, police said on Saturday.

5 including 9-year-old girl attacked by cow vigilantes in Jammu and Kashmir https://t.co/nWKoadLwtr pic.twitter.com/JqCWJT0ExD

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"An FIR has been lodged. We have arrested persons involved in the attack on the nomad family moving with their livestock — cattle, sheep and goats on 20 April night," a senior police officer told IANS. The police officer said the livestock has already been restored to the goatherds who are their rightful owner.

Pehlu Khan. Image courtesy: YouTube

"They beat us ruthlessly. Somehow we managed to flee from there. One of our children, a 10-year-old, is still missing. We don't know whether he is alive or dead. They even beat our elders very badly. They wanted to kill us and throw our bodies into the river," said Naseem Begam, one of the victims expressing the horrors of the attack, told NDTV.

The incident comes against the backdrop of Alwar lynching of Pehlu Khan. A Congress delegation met Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh and demanded a CBI probe into the lynching in Alwar district, allegedly by cow vigilantes. The delegation, led by Rajasthan PCC chief Sachin Pilot, met the governor and handed over a memorandum.

"Pehlu Khan (55) was beaten to death on 1 April in Alwar by a mob of gau rakshaks and there should be a CBI probe into his death," the Congress leaders demanded.

While expressing concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, Pilot said that criminals are roaming scot-free under the BJP rule and their confidence is high just because the government is negligent.

"The functioning of police and the statement of the state home minister present bad examples," he said. The PCC chief also expressed surprise over the silence of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on the issue.

Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria had earlier said the people intercepted by cow vigilantes in Alwar did not have transit permit.

With inputs from agencies