Cow vigilantes backed by BJP, alleges Digvijaya Singh

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Thursday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was backing the cow vigilantes across the country and questioned as to why no action has been initiated against them yet despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directive.

"An extortion going on in the name of cows. Akhlaq was lynched in Dadri. A man is killed in Alwar. Who has given you right in this regard? The people are being beaten and killed at several places. And this all has the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership," Singh told the media outside Parliament here.

"Modi ji had himself said that 85 percent of cow vigilantes are frauds and hooligans and so action should be initiated against them. Then why are they being given protection," he added while responding to a poser that Congress legislator in Gujarat, Gyasuddin Shaikh, has demanded that the cow should be declared the "national animal".

Shaikh, who represents the Dariapur Assembly segment in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city, has requested all slaughterhouse owners and operators to ensure that the cow or its progeny is not slaughtered anywhere in the state.

Earlier, a Muslim man was lynched by the cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar city.

Pehlu Khan and others were injured after an attack by a mob, who thought they were smuggling cows through Rajasthan.

Khan succumbed to his injuries on Monday night.

Khan and others were returning from a fair in Jaipur where they had purchased a few cows.

The incident took place on April 1 after gau rakshaks affiliated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal stopped their vehicle on NH-8, alleging that they were illegally transporting cows.

An FIR has been registered and investigation is currently underway in this regard.

Earlier in 2015, Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched by a mob in Uttar Pradesh's Bisara village for allegedly consuming beef.

On the night of September 28, 2015, a mob surrounded Akhlaq's residence in Dadri's Bisara before allegedly dragging him out of the house and beating him to death.