ALWAR: Inside a faded pink-coloured porch, monkeys bask under the winter sunlight, and there’s nothing much else. This is the state of one of the most important ‘gau raksha chowki’ (cow protection check post) of the Alwar police, located in Natni Ka Bara, which in the recent past saw an exchange of fire between the cops and smugglers.Amid growing incidents of violence related to cow vigilantism in the district, the focus is back on these police ‘ gau raksha chowkis ’, which were set up to curb smugglers and cow vigilantes who attack vehicles on the suspicion of smuggling.Home minister Gulab Chand Kataria had hailed these cow posts as one of the major achievements of the police.However, these check-posts, which the government claims as an achievement, are largely defunct due to the lack of staff and resources. Police had set up six of such check-posts at different entry and exit routes of the city to stop vehicles and prevent cow vigilantes from attacking suspected vehicles.The residents allege many of them are now unofficial ‘ extortion points ’, where bovine transporters stop to bribe the on-duty policemen to allow them to pass through the barricades.A locked door of a chowki.Prem Patel, a former sarpanch of Umren village, said that a few years ago villagers had taken a unanimous decision to give their community rest house to the police for cow protection. “There are no permanent policemen deployed here. Once in a while, a few cops come at night and take bribe from the smugglers. Ever since this check-post was set up, not a single cow has been saved from smugglers,” Patel said.The debate over the relevance of the cow check-posts renewed after alleged cow smuggler Talim Khan was shot dead by the police inside the heart of Alwar city on Thursday. The villagers ask how the smugglers managed to enter the city despite ‘gau raksha chowkis’.Vehicles burnt by cow vigilantes lying at a police station.Vikram Singh, who runs a small tea shop near the check-post, said that villagers were expressing their resentment over police laxity in guarding the area. “Leave alone smuggling, the bike-lifter gangs here are very active. Everyday some bike is stolen from this area,” he said.Villagers say that the check-post is located at the main entry point of the city, and, in the past, they had seen clashes between the police and smugglers. Yet, the check-post remains unguarded for most of the time. “The main room is locked. They may come in the evening and extort money from vehicles passing through this road. The police have nothing to do with ‘gau raksha’. If there are so many of such check-posts, then why have they not stopped the smuggling,” said former MLA from Alwar (rural) Tikaram Juli.When TOI contacted the cops responsible for guarding the check-posts, they gave a different story. “The sanctioned staff for the check-post is about five men. But at any given time, there are only one or two cops present. We don’t’ have any weapon with us either. We have to attend to other works like going for warrants, courts and usual ‘thana’ (police station) works,” policemen said.The ‘gau raksha chowki’ at Alawara village is in a similar state. The check-post here is located inside a dilapidated building which was leased out to the police. The room is bereft of basic necessities to house five men. The cops here rely on nail plates to stop vehicles.Police here admitted to taking the help of local cow vigilantes. A constable present here said that the police may not have been able to stop a single vehicle without the support of ‘gau rakshaks’.Two charred vehicles can be seen outside the check-post. “We had stopped the vehicle and found that cows were being smuggled. We rescued the cows, arrested the smugglers while the vehicle was set on fire,” a local resident said.