Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
A clash broke out between two groups in Hyderabad’s Gudimalkapur area on Saturday, May 16, when cow vigilantes intercepted a lorry carrying plywood, claiming that it was transporting cattle. The vigilantes allegedly resorted to stone-pelting, and several people were injured in the incident, police said.
The incident occurred in the Old City area of Hyderabad, which has a predominantly Muslim population. Gudimalkapur Station House Officer (SHO) Ch Ramaiah said the cow vigilantes stopped the lorry suspecting it was carrying cows because it was covered in tarpaulin and the cargo wasn’t visible.
A week ago, a group of cow vigilantes in Hyderabad had attacked a truck carrying oxen for the shooting of a Vijay Deverakonda film.
In the Gudimalkapur incident, a SHO Ramaiah told TNM that the driver of the lorry carrying plywood, Maharashtra-native Shaik Rasool, was allegedly pulled out of the lorry and assaulted by the cow vigilante group. Rasool stated that he was delivering plywood from Chennai to the Nomah Trading Company in Asif Nagar, Hyderabad, when cow vigilantes stopped the vehicle and asked him to take off the tarpaulin cover suspecting that cattle was being transported. The situation grew tense with local residents gathering at the spot leading to a confrontation and stone pelting.
The police resorted to lathi charge to curb the clash. Two police personnel were also injured in the stone pelting.
An FIR was registered based on a complaint from the driver Shaik Rasool, under Sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 351 (criminal intimidation) and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Golconda Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) G Chandra Mohan told TNM that prima facie, the incident was provoked by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Further investigation is ongoing to determine who all were involved. “No arrests have been made so far. We are verifying footage to determine the identity of people involved beyond reasonable doubt before proceeding,” he said.