For a little less than two days, a police station in Jharkhand’s Garhwa became a temporary cow shelter with nearly 200 cattle, seized in an early morning operation on Thursday, kept within its compound as the police could not immediately find any other place to house them.
The cattle were moved to a cow shelter in Palamu, some 55 km away, on Friday night, authorities said.
The Bajrang Dal’s district head, Sonu Singh, claimed he had tipped off authorities about alleged cattle smuggling, after which the police rounded up the cows. “The cattle were being smuggled in small groups, even pushed on foot, from Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Around 250 animals were rescued. The smugglers were using darkness to escape, but three people were caught,” he told The Indian Express.
Garhwa SP Garhwa Aman Kumar, however, said there was no evidence that the cattle were being transported for slaughter and that no arrests had been made. He said the police took action based on the complaints they received and that they were working on verifying the claims.
“Around 170 cattle were brought here as part of the weekly market. This is a traditional animal market. Some members of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad alleged that the animals were being taken for slaughter, but we have not found any such evidence so far,” the SP said.
But Bajrang Dal’s Sonu Singh alleged that the cows were being transported for slaughter and that the traffickers tried to attack police and cow vigilantes while fleeing on motorcycles. “Three men were caught as they came to attack from behind. Many others managed to escape due to a lack of adequate police force at the station. Imagine, a district headquarters police station had only six personnel on duty during such a big incident,” he claimed.
The incident has drawn attention to the logistical challenges faced by the police when such large seizures take place.
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Sonu Singh said the seized cattle were in “deplorable condition”, with several injured and unable to stand. He alleged that the animals were being transported in trucks, crammed in numbers far beyond capacity. “As many as 17-20 animals were stuffed into trucks that could carry only a dozen. It was inhuman,” Singh said.
Bajrang Dal workers arranged fodder and water for the seized cattle while they were kept at the police station. According to Singh, around 20 sacks of fodder were used.
The Bajrang Dal leader also alleged that “big people” were behind the “racket”. “There is pressure not to register FIRs, to release the cattle, and even to file fake cases against those who protect cows. But we will take this fight to the High Court and demand a CBI inquiry,” he said.
The SP said cattle trading is a regular practice in the region. “Traders usually bring cattle from nearby areas, including the UP border, and sell them here. Buying and selling of cattle is not prohibited under law unless there is proof that the animals are being taken specifically for slaughter. So far, no such proof has come up,” he said.
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Police have registered an FIR, and the investigation is ongoing.
