Fearing vigilantes, truckers shun cattle
MEERUT: It was a reality check for a senior Uttar Pradesh police officer, who wanted to ship his two cows and a calf from Meerut to his Lucknow home.
The transporter he approached politely refused as truckers have unanimously decided to stop ferrying cows, buffaloes and calves fearing attacks by cow vigilantes.
The president of the Meerut transport association, Gaurav Sharma, said in the wake of recent attacks on truckers carrying livestock, they have decided not to ferry cattle anymore.
More than 10,000 trucks operate in Meerut and all are strictly following the decision, he said.
“The police officer offered to provide a constable to escort the vehicle. But I also asked for an escort vehicle to ensure the safety of the driver,” Sharma said.
After much persuasion, eventually, the cows were transported to Lucknow with three armed policemen in tow, he said.
“Truckers are so scared of cow vigilantes they even refuse to transport dead animals.”
About a fortnight ago, city transporters had refused to ferry a sick cow for treatment to Bareilly. Failing to convince transporters, the owner of the cow approached the police and later tweeted to chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for help.
When the matter came to light, senior superintendent of police Manzil Saini had to intervene and arrange for a vehicle that ferried the cow to Bareilly and back to Meerut after the treatment.
The SSP admitted that the transporters were reluctant.
Since May 2015, a violent vigilante campaign against beef consumption has led to the killing of at least 10 Muslims, including a 12-year-old boy, in seven separate incidents of mob violence in India, the New-York based Human Rights Watch reported.