assault by cow vigilantes

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Respond on banning cow vigilantes: SC to centre

NEW DELHI: The mob violence unleashed by self-declared cow vigilante groups in the country has come under the judicial scanner as the Supreme Court asked the Centre and six states on Friday to respond why such elements should not be banned for creating disharmony among communities and castes.A bench of Justices Dipak Misra, A M Khanwilkar and M M Shantanagoudhar directed the Centre and the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Jharkhand to respond within three weeks on a PIL seeking a ban on “gau rakshak dals” — often lawless groups that have assaulted alleged cow smugglers.The court’s direction comes days after 55-year-old farmer Pehlu Khan died following anin Alwar, Rajasthan.Referring to the incident, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde , appearing for the petitioner, urged the bench to examine the issue on an urgent basis as such incidents were occurring and the court needed to direct the state governments not to provide protection to members of such groups.Hegde alleged that members of “gau rakshak dals”, which have been involved in illegal acts, are spreading violence and committing atrocities against Dalits and people from the minority communities and sought a direction to the governments to take action against them.“The problem is not at the central level but on the ground in states as there are state laws which are giving protection to such groups. We cannot afford to have such incidents and the chief secretary of Rajasthan should be asked to file an affidavit on the incident,” Hegde said.The court was hearing a PIL filed by Congress leader Tehseen Poonawalla seeking a ban on such groups for unleashing mob violence against innocent people.