Tapi: Man assaulted by suspected cow vigilantes, 10 arrested

On way, near Mangaldev village, a group of people, including a woman, stopped the van and asked Gamit to explain why he was carrying the calves.

The police said that group attacked Anil with wooden sticks and injured him severely. “While Dashrat managed to escape from the spot, the group beat up Anil and fled,” said a police officer.

Dashrat later found Anil and took him to Vyara referral hospital. According to the doctors, Anil, who is under treatment for multiple fractures on his right leg, is in a stable condition.

The Songadh police, which visited the hospital to take Anil’s statement, booked five named and five unknown persons, including the woman Neha Patel – the leader of a cow vigilante group in Vadodara – on Monday evening. The 10 people, including Neha, were arrested on Wednesday, said police.

Those arrested have been identified as Aditya Patel (33), Jagdish Goswami (28), Rajesh Suthar alias Raju Dadhi (34), Parthgiri Goswami (23), Amit Sorathiya (31), Mayur Katariya (26), Jay Maisurya (25), Ajay Patel (29), Fenil Dudhwala (26) and Neha Patel (33).

Tapi Deputy Superintendent of Police J S Nayak said, “We have arrested all the 10 people involved in this incident. The condition of Anil Gamit is stable. Those arrested have been sent to judicial custody.”

On Thursday, tribal leaders from Tapi district handed a memorandum to the district collector requesting that Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code be invoked against the accused. So far, the accused have been booked on charges of roiting and assault, among others.