Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand on Wednesday, July 6, asked animal activists and Hindu organisations not to chase vehicles carrying cattle for sacrifice on Bakrid. During a meeting with them, he appealed to them not to indulge in tailgating cattle-carrying vehicles and refrain from intervening at the check posts. "No one will be allowed to take the law into their hands. Any scuffles between the groups can affect communal harmony," the Commissioner of Police said.
The city police are maintaining a high vigil as other prominent festivities are coinciding with Bakrid on July 10. Instructions were reportedly given to officers to take firm action against communal offenders. The meeting apprised the attendees of the stringent measures taken up by the city police to stop the illegal transport of livestock. The activists were asked to pass on any information to the officers and a quick response was assured. The officers also explained the prevailing norms and laws.
Officers assured participants that their requests and suggestions will be considered. The meeting discussed in length the specific role of various organisations in controlling illegal transport and slaughter. According to the police, representatives of all organisations agreed that selling of aged animals has to be addressed at the grass-root level. Animal activists also suggested that a separate wing for Animal Welfare has to be instituted under the government.
Senior police officials and representatives of organizations like Love for Cow, Telangana Goshala, Cow Gyan Foundation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and others attended the meeting.
Telangana has seen several instances of cow vigilantism in the past. Recently, after some men claiming to be gau rakshaks stopped a vehicle transporting cattle near Karmanghat in Hyderabad, leading to clashes, Telangana's in-charge Director General of Police at the time, Anjani Kumar, warned those who were trying to disrupt communal harmony in the state of strong action. In 2021, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi had urged the Telangana police to stop harassment of cattle traders and transporters by cow vigilantes, police and other officials on the eve of Bakrid.