A police officer and a youth were killied in cow vigilantism-related violence in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh on December 3, 2018. The data journalism website IndiaSpend has tabulated 99 such incidents* and 39 deaths based on verified news reports since 2012. The violence in Uttar Pradesh was not the first where policemen were injured. In the past, policemen were targeted in at least seven incidents.

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Monthly spikes

April 2017 saw the highest number of cow vigilantism incidents in a month (eight) since 2012. The number of incidents spiked again in August 2018. Here's a look at the number of incidents and deaths month-wise.

Higher in the North

Reports of cow vigilantism came from 19 States, with Uttar Pradesh recording the highest number of incidents as well as deaths due to violence. In the south, Karnataka registered the highest number of incidents. The below map shows the trend across States.

image/svg+xml Uttar Pradesh 16 9 Haryana 11 5 Jharkand 9 5 Karnataka 8 1 Gujarat 8 1 Rajasthan 7 4 Madhya Pradesh 7 3 No.of incidents No.of deaths No.of incidents 1 8 16

Targets of violence

The database shows that over half the victims of violence were Muslims. One in ten victims was a Dalit. Here's a community-wise break-up of the victims.

*Data as on December 4, 2018. The current number on the website is 97. However, 99 incidents have been recorded.