Gau Raksha Dal says 'cow dung' 'cleansed' beef offenders

Hours after a shocking video of the Gau Raksha Dal volunteers forcing two alleged beef smugglers to eat cow dung and drink cow urine went viral, Gau Raksha Dal chief Dharmendra Yadav not only admitted that his group committed such an act, but also backed them by saying that 'cow dung' was holy and they had in fact 'cleansed' the beef traders of their sins.

Speaking to ANI here, Yadav said that there was nothing wrong in taking the law in their hands when it came to protecting the cow and hinted that violators of laws against cow slaughter deserved such treatment.

"In Haryana and several other states cow slaughter is banned, but these people violate laws. So, for such violators this is what suits. Moreover, in Hindu religion cow is like mother, if someone attacks my mother then I won't wait for the police. That is why Gau Raksha Dal had to stand up," he said.

"I agree what they did was wrong, but in our religious cow dung and urine are holy. It is good that they have cleansed them," he added.

In a bizarre remark, he said, "They eat an entire cow and no one says anything but raise a hue and cry over cow dung (being fed)."

Yadav also attempted to pin the blame on the locals by saying that they were so agitated, that the situation went out of hand.

"These vehicles were caught from near Badarpur and Faridabad. We had prior information about three vehicles (carrying beef). We caught them and by that time locals were so agitated that nothing could be done," he added.

According to reports, in the video, the two men can be seen sitting on the road, with the concoction of cow dung and urine before them, attempting to wash it down their throats with water.

The volunteers are seen encouraging the duo to eat the concoction, giving them more water to make it easier.

They were also reportedly forced to chant 'Gau Mata ki Jai' and 'Jai Shri Ram' as they swallowed the mixture.