GURUGRAM: Amid the controversy surrounding self-appointed cow vigilantes and their violent methods, TOI caught up with a few of them on Sunday to understand how they operate. A network of around 150 gau rakshaks operates in Gurugram, Mewat , Palwal, Rewari and Faridabad. Together, they coordinate their raids and share resources among themselves.

They claimed that they “are just animal lovers”, and some people are misusing their name in an attempt to “malign their good intentions”.

“A few months ago, we nabbed a Mewat man near Bilaspur, who was posing as a gau rakshak. He was extorting money from truck drivers. We handed him over to police. A real gau rakshak will not take money. He would rescue animals because this is something they work for. But a fake gau rakshak can defame all genuine ones,” they claimed.

The cow vigilantes told TOI their network is strong, enough for them to acquire even the tiniest details of a vehicle used for smuggling. “We know which vehicle it is, how many people and animals it has got, what weapons they’re carrying, which routes they will take, which dhaba they will eat at, and even where the number plates of their vehicles will be changed. We get minute-by-minute information of their movements,” they said. Interestingly, gau rakshaks use a policy of ‘divide and rule’ to get their informers to work for them. “Cattle smuggling is illegal. If supply is less, then prices will go up.”

“A cow smuggler gives us the information about his rival. The rival, too, tells us about the one who ratted against him because of his vested interests. In a nutshell, they all tell us about each other’s trucks, and we rescue the animals,” they said, describing their modus operandi. The real action begins just as the raid is about to get under way. The maximum notice they get is 15-20 minutes. During this time, they park three or four vehicles on the stretch, and scatter nails on the road to puncture tyres of the smugglers’ vehicles, and slow them down.

The chase begins with a ‘cow protection task force’ vehicle following the smugglers’truck. The vehicles of the remaining gaurakshaks, waiting a little distance down the road, then join in the chase and try to block the approaching vehicle.

“The smugglers stop when the tyres get punctured, and then they open fire at us and try to flee. In the past three years, four of us have been injured and one died after being shot at. I too have had a close escape thrice. They have weapons, we don’t. Otherwise it will trigger a shootout between both parties, and more people will die – or maybe they will be nabbed,” revealed one of the gaurakshaks.

Cattle are being smuggled daily though we have laws to curb it, say cow vigilantes. “All vehicles used for smuggling are stolen. They have country-made pistols. Each cow has a certificate signed by local authorities (but) we have never found one with them. These cows are also stolen. This shows it is a well-planned and coordinated crime,” they said, adding, “Despite that, when we are attacked, there is no mention, and when they are attacked everyone takes notice,” they complain.

After the animals are rescued, they are sent to cow shelters. “One should see the conditions we find cattle in. They are tied up, and cramped in small spaces. They are drugged and piled over each other. Any animal lover cannot bear that sight. It takes months for cows to heal.”

