A public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the Bombay High Court has sought a 24-hour helpline number to prevent the killing of innocent people by cow vigilantes ahead of Bakr-Eid, scheduled to be held on September 1-2.
The Bombay HC has issued a notice to the Mumbai police and the Maharashtra director general of police and sought a reply with regard to the matter within two weeks. The PIL was filed by social activist Shadaab Patel, who feared there would be more such incidents of cow vigilantism with the Muslim festival of Bakr-Eid round the corner.
The PIL also wanted the state government to gather information about cow vigilante groups and all police stations to have a list on gau rakshaks in their jurisdiction, India Today reported.
The PIL cited details of several incidents of cow vigilantism from Akhlaq's lynching in Dadri to Junaid Khan's murder on a train travelling from Ballabgarh to New Delhi. It said the petitioners' research reveals that 23 people have died due to such incidents since 2014, Live Law reported.
The petitioners said it was the state government's duty to protect its citizens and the government should come up with strong measures to ensure the safety of its citizens.
The PIL also asked the state government to peacefully implement the Supreme Court's order "suspending Centre's notification banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter." It also sought that the respondents provide a gun license to all those who transport cattle legally so that they can defend themselves from gau rakshaks.
