Punjab cow vigilantes 'raid' soap-makers over tallow source

RAJPURA (PATIALA): Soap manufacturers in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are at the receiving end following raids on their trucks by "gau rakshaks" in the last six months over the source of tallow used in their products.
At least 20 firm owners on Tuesday met Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal amid threats by the cow protectors.
After a Jalandhar-based state laboratory refused to say conclusively whether trucks seized by "gau rakshaks" were carrying the tallow of cows or buffaloes, the manufacturers said they were "being threatened" and "their staff beaten" by the vigilantes.
Tallow is a key animal fat and ingredient for some soaps There are around 139 such soap-manufacturers in Punjab who source buffalo meat from four authorised meat plants to extract tallow.
While three vehicles, each carrying 12,000-15,000 kg of tallow, were seized in February 2015 by "gau rakshaks" in Patiala, around seven were impounded in Ludhiana and Bathinda in March.