Haryana Has Booked 513 People Under Cow Protection Law, Among Them 86 Are Hindus

After coming to power in 2014, the first ever majority BJP government in Haryana, led by Manohar Lal Khattar, had kept its word and enacted one of the most stringent laws in the country against cow slaughter.

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As the government completes two years on Wednesday, details obtained by TOI show that in the past eight months, the state police have booked as many 86 Hindus for cow smuggling and other related offences. The number of Muslims booked for similar offences is much higher at 421. Half-a-dozen Sikhs have been booked too. In all 513 people have been booked.

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The police have compiled the figures of those booked under the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act 2015 between January 1 and August 31, 2016. The maximum cases have been registered in con nection with smuggling cows, though, there are some related to cow slaughter and sale of beef as well. As many as 170 people have been arrested.

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"We have found that people from across religions are involved in cow smuggling," a senior police officer told TOI requesting anonymity. The maximum smuggling cases are in Mewat, Hisar, Fatehabad, Meham, Bhiwani, Rewari, Bhiwani, Mahendergarh, Yamunanagar and Panipat.

The police have also come to know of cow smuggling to Mewat from a gaushala in Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Also Read: Haryana Becomes The 5th Victim Of The Outrageous Meat Ban For The Jain Festival Of Paryushan

In the past few months the issue has taken centre stage in Haryana's politics. Today, cow activists allege that Hindus are only used by smugglers to transport the bovines. However, others feel that those involved in the trade should not be identified by their religion.

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President of the Haryana Rajya Gaushal Sangh, Shamsher Arya says some Hindus are involved in cow smuggling out of greed and unemployment. "However, they only smuggle and are not involved in slaughter," says Arya, who has been associated with a campaign for handing over the grazing grounds to gaushalas from panchayats. According to Arya, smugglers tell the villagers that they need cows for milk and offer around Rs 4,000 per animal, including transportation charges."The Hindus are used for transport so that the police don't arrest them."

However, a senior farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni points out that due to cow vigilantes, transportation of the animals has become difficult even for genuine buyers. "We have seen that even farmers have been harassed for transporting cows," says Chaduni, who is state president of Bharitiya Kisan Union.

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"Some people are trying to polarise Hindus and Muslims in Haryana by using this issue," says Harphul Khan Bhatti, state president Muslim Kalyan Committee of Haryana. "This whole issue is not religious but a political one. In fact, Muslims respect cows just as the Hindus do."