Chased by cow vigilantes, youth drowned in J&K nullah. His body is found 20 days later

The men managed to intercept Tanveer near Maggarkote and started assaulting him. He ran down the road and jumped into the nullah flowing along the highway to escape.

According to police, Tanveer had bought the cattle to use them as milch animals, and had a written permission from the District Magistrate, Jammu, to transport them.

As news spread of Tanveer’s “disappearance”, hundreds of residents of Pogal and nearby villages in Ramsu sub-division gathered at Maggarkote and blocked the national highway demanding action. Four men, known for “cow vigilantism” in the area, have been arrested.

The cattle as well as the pickup truck are in police custody.

Tanveer, employed as a driver with a factory in Jammu, was returning home after nearly a month at that time. He had called his father before leaving Jammu around 6 am, informing him that he was coming home.

The police have set up a Special Investigation Team and arrested four people – Surjeet Singh, Sandeep Singh, Digvijay Singh and Kewal Singh – all residents of Ramban. While one of them is a village lamberdar, another is a cloth merchant and a third works in a transport company.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had called the incident a “murder” and said “jungle raj” would not be tolerated in J&K. Those who want to use religion as an excuse to mar the atmosphere in the Union Territory would not be allowed to do so, he said.

Abdullah had also urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is in charge of law and order in the Union Territory, to ensure there is action against those involved.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had warned that the incident involving Tanveer shows that “the poison of cow vigilantism” is coming to J&K. There could be “repercussions” if there was no action against the accused, he said.

Local NLC MLA Arjun Singh Raju too had condemned the incident, saying strict action would be taken against the accused.