Will act against gau rakshaks: Cops

A day after a person lodged a complaint at Amboli police station — alleging that he was harassed and threatened by an auto driver and two other people who suspected that he was carrying a bag made of cow skin — and the police registered a non-cognisable offence (NC), the Mumbai police has announced that it would take strict action against such harassment in the future.

On Saturday, Barun Kashyap lodged an NC at Amboli police station, alleging that the rickshaw driver and two people he knew had threatened him after they suspected that he was carrying a leather bag made of cow skin.

Late on Sunday evening, DCP Ashok Dudhe, who is also the spokesperson of the city police department, put out a statement regarding the same and said such cases will be severely dealt with.

“With regard to the incident registered at Amboli police station, all such actions will be dealt with strictly. In yesterday's incident, the details were recorded as reported. However, we have started a regular enquiry in the case to identify those involved and will undertake investigations immediately after the approval of the Metropolitan Magistrate."

According to the Amboli police, the driver of the auto rickshaw he boarded in Andheri questioned Mr Kashyap initially. In a post that he put up on Facebook, Mr Kashyap, a creative director, said, “The auto driver peered at me curiously and then asked me in English where I was from and I replied Assam. After a while, he asked if the state was located near Bangladesh.”

He added that when the vehicle stopped at a signal, the driver turned to him and said his bag was stinking. Mr Kashyap's reply to this was, “It happens in the monsoon when the bag gets wet.” He said that the driver was not convinced and went ahead and touched his bag. “He wasn’t convinced and touched the bag when I wasn't looking. He then said the bag was made of cow hide. I told him it was camel leather. But the answer did not satisfy him and he argued,” Mr Kashyap said in his post.

He added that the driver then did not talk to him for a while but, while passing a temple, stopped the vehicle and beckoned to some men sitting outside the temple. “One of the men then poked his head into the auto and touched my bag. All this while, I was protesting. I had glanced at four digits on the vehicle number plate and made a mental note of it when the driver said, ‘Aaj toh bach gaye (you were saved today)’,” Kashyap reveals in his post.

When contacted, the Amboli police confirmed the incident and said they were trying to trace the accused.