jaipur

Updated: Feb 07, 2018 21:45 IST

In the last three years, 1,113 cases of cow smuggling have been registered in Rajasthan and 2,198 smugglers were arrested, the state government said in a reply tabled in the state assembly on Wednesday.

In the written reply, the government said that there were 33 instances of firing between smugglers and police in the last three years. Seven policemen were injured in the incidents while one smuggler was killed and three injured.

BJP MLA Hiralal Nagar had an unstarred question demanding to know how many cases of cow smuggling were registered in the state in the last three years, how many smugglers were arrested, how many cows rescued and what action has been taken.

He also wanted to know the number of cases where cow smugglers had fired at the police and how many policemen or smugglers had been killed and injured.

In a written reply, the home department said that from 2015 to 2017, 16,428 cows were rescued and 1051 vehicles impounded by the police in the state. In its reply, the home department said that of the 1,113 cases, challans were presented in 931 cases and FIRs filed in 122 cases while the investigation is on in another 60 cases.

Asked about steps taken to prevent cow smuggling, the government said that police patrolling is carried out regularly and check-posts have been set up in various districts. The Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995 is in force in the state. The process is on to make amendments in the act to make it more stringent, the government said.

Cow smuggling continues to be a menace in the state with Bharatpur and Alwar remaining the districts with the highest number of cases of cow smuggling followed at third spot by Jaipur rural district. Smugglers from neighbouring Haryana smuggle cows from Bharatpur and Alwar to slaughterhouses in Haryana.

The BJP government faced flak for violence by cow vigilantes against alleged cow smugglers. Pehlu Khan was lynched by a mob in Alwar in July 2017 for allegedly smuggling cows while another alleged cow smuggler was shot dead by Alwar police in December 2017.