Rajasthan has seen at least two serious attacks by gau rakshaks this year but Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has remained silent on the issue. It seems only fair for the CM to come and calm the waters when there is so much tension brewing around the issue of cow slaughter and ban on slaughterhouses in neighbouring states. Pehlu Khan, a Haryana resident, died on Monday night after he was attacked by gau rakshaks for transporting cows in Alwar, Rajasthan. According to police, at least four more people were attacked by the cow protectors allegedly affiliated to Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal even when victims showed purchase documents for the cows. The issue came to light after videos of the attack started circulating on social media and other sharing platforms. Till now, no arrests have been made by the police in the matter. Earlier in March, a cleaner of Hayat Rabbani Hotel in Jaipur was thrashed by a Kamal didi of Rashtriya Mahila Gau Rakshak Sewa Mandal who alleged that the cleaner was polluting cows with beef. Her assault spread massively as an angry mob of hundreds joined their protest and police went on a hunt for the owners of the hotel when a complaint was filed that the hotel served beef. Any action of this nature has to go in consonance with the set legal provisions. The apathy towards the issue only creates a sense of terror in the society where someone can be fatally assaulted for having cows in their possession if caught by these overzealous vigilante mobs. In the past two-three years, there have been several attacks by gau rakshaks. In May 2015, 60-year-old Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi from a village in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district was lynched by a mob when pictures circulating on social media suggested that Muslims had slaughtered 200 cows for a feast. The issue of cow protectors taking route of violence to further their cause is extremely serious and has been rampant in various states, several of them ruled by the BJP. As more and more states crackdown on cow slaughter and sale of beef, the timing of such incidents also pose severe security concerns. Raje, it would seem, would take her responsibility as the chief minister and bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.
