'Gau Rakshaks' booked for outraging religious feelings

"Gau Raksha Dal" volunteers who forced two beef transporters to eat a concoction of cow dung have been booked for outraging religious feelings, Haryana Police said on Thursday.

Two men, Rizwan and Mukhtiar, were forced to eat "panchgavya" (concoction of cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd and ghee) on June 10 in Gurgaon.

Police said Rizwan and Mukhtiar were in a car with over 300 kg of beef and were heading towards Delhi from Mewat in Haryana when the vehicle was intercepted by Gau Raksha Dal volunteers in Faridabad around the midnight of June 9.

Around six to seven volunteers kidnapped the two men in a car from an area in Faridabad and took them to Gurgaon.

A video that has gone viral shows a part of the events that transpired after the two were taken to Gurgaon.

They are seen seated on the road, with the cow dung concoction in a packet before them and attempting to eat it down with water.

Volunteers in the video can be heard prompting them to say "Gau Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Shri Ram", both of which the two said as they struggled to swallow the mixture.

On June 10, Rizwan and Mukhtiar were handed over to police in Faridabad due to the jurisdiction of crime. They were arrested under the Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act and later sent to judicial custody.

Laboratory test confirmed they were carrying 300 kg beef.

"Based on their statement, we have booked unknown Gau Rakshaks under section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 365 (kidnapping), 295 A (outraging religious feelings) and 506 (criminal intimidation)," police officer Anil Kumar told IANS.

--IANS

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