As the chorus grows for punishment of people whose thrashing in Alwar, Rajasthan, led to the death of Haryana resident Pehlu Khan earlier this month, a self-styled cow vigilante named Sadhvi Kamal 'Didi' has called them 'today's Bhagat Singh.'
Khan and some other men were transporting cows from Rajasthan when they were stopped and thrashed by cow vigilantes. He died later, and members of his family — especially his uncle — threatened to commit suicide if justice was not done and the culprits went unpunished in the case.
'Today's Bhagat Singh'
Sadhvi Kamal, who is often referred to as 'Didi' by her followers, reportedly met Vipin Yadav, the prime accused in the case, on Monday. She also praised them, saying: "Ye Bhagat Singh, [Chandrashekhar] Azad, Sukhdev, ye hain, ye log. Inhone koi bhi galat nahi kiya, kisi prakar ka galat nahi karke gaye. (These people are Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and Sukhdev of today. They did not do anything wrong.)"
Yadav had been taken for medical examination when this meeting happened. Video of the meeting, which has since surfaced online and gone viral, shows police standing around as Sadhvi Kamal Didi meets Yadav and others and talks to them.
She also tells the accused: "Poora Bharat tere saath mein hai, aur hum apne desh mein aise kaam nahi karenge toh kahan karenge. Koi bhi toh na jhuke, aur na hi tujhe kisi prakar ki chinta karne ki avashakta hai. (The entire country is with you. If not in our country, then where elsecan we do such things? Don't give in. Don't worry about anything.)"
Who is Sadhvi Kamal?
Sadhvi Kamal is a 39-year-old cancer-survivor, who had last month forced the Jaipur city administration to shut down a restaurant because it was serving beef. She is the national president of Rashtriya Mahila Gauraksha Dal, a self-styled cow-protection group where all members are women. The group is active in Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Sadhvi Kamal has shown no qualms in interviews about mentioning that she has 13-14 police cases against her. "Cow smugglers register fake cases against gau bhakts," she told one reporter earlier this month.
