Hindu activists charged with cattle smuggling in Savanoor

Hindu activists charged with cattle smuggling in Savanoor

Mangalore Today News Network

Puttur, Aug 23, 2013: There has been an interesting twist to the cattle smuggling case reported from Savanoor  on August 21, Wednesday wherein  police arrested as many as seven men reportedly belonging to the Bhajrangdal on the charges of stealing and smuggling four cattle.

On August 22, Thursday, even the owner of the cattle one Usman was arrested by the police following a complaint by one of the  accused  alleging that the  former had assaulted him and other accused. However, Usman was released on bail within hours of his arrest.

It was on August 21, Wednesday that the cops arrested  seven persons identified as

Eshwar, Karunakara, Dinesha, Narayana, Sundara Poojary, Santosha and Shafi after the pick-up van in which they were transporting cattle were waylaid by  some locals at Savanoor in Kadaba police station limits.

All the arrested have been released on bail. However, a Bhajrangdal leader denied charges that the arrested were Bhajrangdal men.

It may be recalled here that the cattle belonging to Usman were stolen from his house and then placed in a local Go Prathishtana Kendra for two days. The cattle were then being smuggled to some unknown destination when the seven men were trapped.

 

The police said the group confessed to taking the cattle from the field, with the intention of “protecting” the cattle in a nearby goshala in Puttur. “The seven men arrested are Usman’s neighbours, who say they were fed up with Usman letting his cattle graze on their fields. So, after several warnings, they decided to take the cattle to the goshala to teach them a lesson… because of this, we have not invoked the Cow Slaughter Act against them, instead booking them only for cattle theft,” said Superintendent of Police Abhishek Goyal.

Responding to allegations that the arrested belonged to a Hindutva organisation, Bajrang Dal, which had called for a press conference in Puttur on Thursday, denied that the arrested men belonged to their group.