Dalits in Lucknow scared to touch a cow after vigilantes thrashed two on suspicion

Lucknow: After Gujarat, Dalits in Lucknow shudder to touch a dead cow to skin it for a living after “gau rakshaks” (vigilantes) thrashed two of their community members on suspicion of cow slaughter last week. [caption id=“attachment_2930390” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] People protesting against the thrashing of Dalits. Reuters[/caption] Scared of being beaten up, some members of the community approached their contractors to take up their case with the Lucknow Municipal Corporation or other authorities after some of them were assaulted in Takrohi area in Indira Nagar on 28 July. “We are aware of the matter and have lodged a complaint with the police against unidentified persons,” Additional Municipal Commissioner Avaneesh Saxena told PTI. He said the Lucknow Municipal Corporation has also requested police and the district administration to provide security to them so that they can lift carcasses and skin them. He said as an immediate precautionary measure, photo identity cards would be issued to contractual workers engaged in such task. The community members have decided not to lift carcasses till they were issued such identity cards to ensure their security. There have been complaints of increased attacks on the Dalit community members in the city in the past six months. They have been attacked while transporting a dead cow on the civic body’s call to lift dead animals so that these do not rot in front of people’s houses. They have often complained that when they go to dispose of the carcasses after skinning them, they are attacked by cow vigilantes who charge them with slaughtering the animal.