British citizen attacked by Mewat cattle mafia
On seeing the plight of the animals stuffed inside the vehicle, the women called the police and signaled the driver to stop but instead of slowing down their vehicle, the assailants opened fire on the unarmed women.
In Short
- A British woman and another were attacked by cattle mafia.
- The incident took place on Gurgaon-Sohna road.
- When the women raised alarm, the accused fired a shot at them.
A British woman and another woman spotted a speeding vehicle moving without tyres. The vehicle was overstuffed with cattle on the Gurgaon-Sohna road.
On seeing the plight of the animals stuffed inside the vehicle, the women called the police and signaled the driver to stop but instead of slowing down their vehicle, the assailants opened fire on the unarmed women.
"We saw a vehicle (RJ 32 GA 2303) racing at a dangerous speed with no tyres on the rear, moving on just rims. It was laden with cows, one on top of the other and some boys sitting on its roof. The driver looked like an ISIS terrorist and the person sitting next to him was abusing us," said Sonia Sharma, a British citizen based in Gurugram.
"They fired a shot at us, fortunately it missed us. However, we did not cave in and continued driving behind them. They then threw a live cow in front of our vehicle and started abusing us" said Archie Baranwal, a Gurugram resident who was also in the car.
Since the vehicle stuffed with cattle was running without rear tyres, it eventually slowed down and stopped. The smugglers were trafficking the animals from Gurugram to Mewat for slaughter. With two animals flung on the road and 4 animals left in critical condition inside the vehicle, the goons abandoned the vehicle along with their illegal firearm and fled the spot. The police arrived at the location after the goons had fled. The illegal firearm used by the goons was recovered by the police and the animals were sent to a nearby gaushala.
"All seven men aboard vehicle number RJ 32 GA 2303 are still at large but have been identified and named in the FIR. All seven men are from Mewat. This is a regular feature in Haryana where Mewati cattle smugglers open fire and pelt stones on police" said ASI Hari Singh of the Sohna City Police Station.
A case has been filed (FIR no. 173/2017) in Sohna City Police Station against seven men. The accused cattle mafia goons have been booked under the Arms Act for possession of illegal firearm and the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamwardhan Act.
"I am disgusted and appalled at what happened and just want to leave this country. I had heard stories of cow vigilantism but now I am convinced that mafia is planting false stories and it's a plot to malign Hindus. The fact that mafia is at large and openly firing at civilians has completely shaken my faith in the country's administration and legal system," said Sharma.