Three men transporting buffaloes were attacked in New Delhi (Picture for representation)

A day after a nomad family was allegedly attacked in Kashmir by gau rakshaks, another instance of cow vigilantism seems to have taken place, this time in Delhi.

Three men were allegedly assaulted by animal rights activists in New Delhi on Saturday night.

R Baaniya, the DCP of South East Delhi, said that the three men were transporting the buffaloes for legal slaughter and that they ended up in a scuffle with members of the the People for Animals, an animal rights group that has denied involvement in the incident.

"Not Gau Raksha dal, they (the attackers) were members of an NGO called PFA which has been working for many years in Delhi," Baaniya told news agency ANI.

WHAT HAPPENED

At around 11.45 pm last night, Delhi Police received a PCR call from animal rights activists who complained about cattle being transported illegally.

The call was made from the mobile phone of Gaurav Gupta, an animal activist and office bearer an office bearer of People for Animals (PFA). Union minister Maneka Gandhi chairs the animal rights group.

A team of officers from the Kalkaji police station was sent to the area opposite the Kalkaji Mandir ring road where police found a truck carrying buffaloes.

The police found three men, Rizwan, Ashu and Kaamil, to be injured and took them to the AIIMS trauma centre in a police car. The occupants of the truck claimed that they had been roughed up by a group of animal rights activists led by Gupta.

A few PFA members were also present at the spot, but they left without lodging a formal complaint.

The truck, which was carrying 14 buffaloes, was taken to the Tis Hazari court and it is believed the animals were being transported to the Ghazipur Mandi in New Delhi.

CROSS FIRs FILED

Later on Sunday, cross complaints were filed against the three truck occupants under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act based on statements of the PFA members.

Delhi police also recorded the statement of Rizwan, the truck driver, and filed a case of assault and violence. The FIR mentions that the accused are the members of PFA.

Maneka Gandhi's office on Sunday issued a statement on the incident, saying, 'PFA has nothing to do with the incident. Three men transporting buffaloes in truck (were) allegedly roughed up by members of an animal rights group in south east Delhi's Kalkaji.'

"We have no PFA unit in Delhi. We have 10,000 volunteers across the country. Whoever acted did so in his individual capacity," Gandhi's office also said.

Police said they are verifying whether the people who intercepted the truck are members of the PFA and after reaching a conclusion they'll decide the future course of action.

(Story has been updated with a statement from Maneka Gandhi's office)

(With inputs from PTI)

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