‘Cattle smugglers get away easily’

GURGAON: Violent vigilantism shocked the city once again on Wednesday night when ‘gau rakshaks’ stopped four trucks on Gurgaon-Jaipur expressway and assaulted the five men transporting the buffaloes.
As another episode of mob justice raised law and order concerns, IG Bharti Arora, supervising officer against cow slaughter and cattle smuggling, told TOI that it is not easy to handle cattle smuggling cases due to laxity in laws and religious sentiments attached with the protection of cows.
A majority of cattle smugglers caught in Gurgaon are repeat offenders, according to Gurgaon police, as cruelty against animals is a bailable offence with a penalty of just Rs 50. There have been at least two dozen accused who have been arrested more than once in past one year, sources inform.
The cases of cattle smuggling are registered under three acts – Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act and Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act. In 2016, 27 FIRs were filed under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, three FIRs were filed under Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act and 25 FIRs were registered under the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act in Gurgaon. Besides, 62 cases were registered in other parts of the state under Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act.
“There is only a fine of Rs 50 under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the accused can easily get bail if animals like buffalos have been subjected to cruelty. Only if cow or beef is involved, there is a fear of punishment is up to 10 years,” Arora said. Sending beef samples for forensic investigation to Agricultural University of Hisar is also a time-consuming process and it takes up to six months for the lab to respond, she added.
Shockingly enough, the cattle smugglers have resorted to extreme tactics in the past to evade arrests, according to cops. For instance, around two months ago a truck loaded with 50 cows was drowned by the cow smugglers in Mewat.