In the borderlands between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and between Tamil Nadu and Kerala, trucks bringing in cattle allegedly cannot reach their destination without paying an exorbitant extortion charge. Traders in TN who buy cows from Andhra markets alleged for instance that when their trucks hit Arumbakkam in Thiruvallur district, they are stopped. On October 10, beef traders held a protest against the alleged extortion racket at Chennai’s beach road, a few blocks away from the District Collector’s office. The protest was hosted by Republic Trade Union of India, an Ambedkarite organisation, and attended by the Tamil Nadu Beef Traders Association. Traders said that repeated petitions to the state government have gone unheard.
Beef traders based in Tamil Nadu told TNM that at the state borders, they face extreme harassment from an extortion network that’s colluding with the police, even when they transport aged cattle. Tamil Nadu brought in a law against cow slaughter in 1958 which allows only slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks that are over 10 years old and are unfit for work or breeding. “Armed men from Hindu right-wing groups surround the vehicle. They demand at least Rs 10,000 to let the truck pass. The police are colluding with them. If the amount is not paid, a false case is lodged against us and our cattle seized,” alleged one Chennai-based beef trader.
Jhavid, another beef trader, told TNM that tokens are issued at the Arumbakkam or Elavur (also in Thiruvallur district) toll gates by right wing groups, and lorries can pass through further checkposts only if they have a token that proves this money is paid. “Only if we have those tokens do police let us through, otherwise they take the cows away to gaushalas. There is a targeted attack on beef — a food that is eaten by Muslim, Christian and Dalit people,” he alleged.
Anbuvendan, president of the Tamil Nadu Beef Traders Association, also alleged the existence of a system of issuing tokens once an extortion fee has been paid. These alleged tokens that TNM has accessed (pictured below) are issued in the name of an organisation called ‘Thirumurugan Lorry Owner’s Association’. They also contain the date of issue and vehicle number of the lorry. “We have to pay between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 to agents who are at the checkposts. They give tokens, and sometimes an escort is provided, who ensures that the lorry can go past all police checkpoints without being stopped,” Anbuvendan said.
A phone call by TNM to the number on the token was answered by a Raja Ramasamy. When asked about the tokens, Raja said that they were distributed only to assist lorries in trouble. “Lorries from our association are travelling to Andhra to bring in cattle. If the lorry breaks down or if the driver has some problem, they can call the number on a card like this. The lorry won’t always be the same, they change each week, or a different driver may be there one way. There are small problems going on with people from ‘this and that’ organisation.”
When asked what sort of problems he was referring to, he said, “People claiming they are from this or that organisation ask for money, saying there are too many cows in a lorry…problems like that. We have issued that card from our association for drivers to contact us if such a problem arises.” Raja also added that the vehicle number is provided on the ‘card’ so the association can keep track of which vehicle is where in order to coordinate help better.
Anbuvendan, however, denied these claims. “The association’s head office is in Pollachi, so why do they need another office in Kavaraipettai [the address on the token] near the Andhra border?” he asked. He also asked why the association did not issue ID cards to its members and instead had a token system. According to various cattle trader associations, this extortion money is split between policemen, vigilantes and others. They have complained to the state government yet again about this alleged extortion.
In police complaints, copies of which TNM has accessed, beef traders and lorry drivers detailed the kind of harassment they face. In a complaint lodged in August this year to the Perundurai police in Erode district, a lorry driver, Pandian (name changed), said that he was stopped at the Erode Bypass by members of the Hindu Makkal Katchi on his way to Pollachi in Coimbatore district. Pollachi has one of the largest cattle markets in the state. According to the complaint, Pandian, a cattle and beef trader, was transporting 44 buffalo calves from Andhra Pradesh when two Mahindra Scorpios overtook him and blocked his way. He was taking the calves to a farm where they would be reared, he said, but eight men in the vehicles forced him out of his lorry and told him that he had to pay Rs 2 lakh to pass through.
Further, Pandian said that when he demanded to know why he had to pay such an amount, he was verbally abused and death threats were issued. In the complaint, members of the group who stopped Pandian are identified as Hindu Makkal Katchi’s Tiruppur district president Hari; Hindu Makkal Katchi’s Erode youth wing member Satish; Arasalur Arun; Perumal; Balu; and three other unnamed men.
Similarly, a complaint lodged in November 2020 by Hari (name changed), a lorry driver from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, said that he was transporting 22 cattle to Kerala via Tamil Nadu. In Erode, again at Perundurai at the Erode Bypass, around five men stopped his lorry. When he asked the men why he’d been stopped, one of them claimed to be the district general secretary of the Dheeran Thozhir Sangam (Dheeran Trade Union). In the complaint, Hari said that he was first verbally abused and then beaten when he tried to stop the men from breaking the lorry’s windows. Hari said that he fled the scene after that and went to the Perundurai police station to file his complaint. An FIR was registered under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint), 294(b) (obscenity), 323 (causing hurt) and 427 (damage of property).
In another FIR registered on the same date, in Tirupur district’s Perumanallur police station, a cattle trader Raju (name changed) who was transporting four buffaloes and 29 bulls to Kerala, allegedly came under attack. On the bypass road from Salem to Kochi, three men in a Mahindra Scorpio overtook and stopped the lorry, Raju alleged. He further said that the men used abusive language and told him to get out of the lorry. When Raju hesitated out of fear, the men allegedly threatened to kill him if he did not comply. After he got out of the vehicle, the men asked him many questions. At this juncture, the local police arrived and took all of them to the station where Raju filed his complaint. The FIR has been registered under IPC sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 294(b) (obscenity) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation).
TNM has been unable to ascertain the status of these cases as the complainants could not be contacted.
“Cases are filed indiscriminately, it is atrocious. The cattle haven’t been stolen. They’ve been legally purchased,” said TADA Rahim, a leader from the Indian National League who had attended the October 10 protest. “This is not a concern that affects only beef merchants. Everyone in the supply chain is affected. The lorry drivers, cleaners are harassed and beaten,” he further alleged.
Speaking to TNM at the protest, another merchant said, “The harassment has been going on for the last eight years, ever since the BJP came to power. Things were still better when Jayalalithaa was alive, they were under control. Now, anyone can wear a saffron shawl and show up. They are armed with logs, all rowdies. They’re drunk most of the time. We are unable to do anything against them.”
They also alleged that the police call them names like ‘mafia’ and mistreat them. “They tell us to sit in a corner, even to strip off our shirts and pants,” he said. Merchants are allegedly asked for anything between Rs 10,000 and 50,000, and if the sum is not paid, their cattle is seized.
Tiruvallur SP Kalyan however told TNM that he was not aware of any extortion demands. “I have not come across any specific complaint on extortion. Once or twice some people approached us complaining about extortion, but they did not lodge a formal complaint. When we do random checks, we have found vehicles transporting cattle from Andhra Pradesh indulging in violations, and we have registered cases against them. So far we have not received any complaints of extortion. If there are specific complaints we will take action against them,” he said.
Both the police and cow protection groups said that beef traders flout many laws which is why they get caught in the first place.
There are multiple instances of cow-vigilantes registering cases against beef merchants and lorry drivers. One such person who has filed multiple complaints against cattle traders is Raguram Sharma from Thiruvallur district, who identifies himself as the Tamil Nadu state head of the Gau Raksha Dal. According to a complaint he filed, his organisation is registered with the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). In a complaint Raguram filed with the Krishnagiri Town police on August 8 this year, he said that he received a tip-off regarding the transportation of cattle to Kerala. Based on this tip-off, he claimed, he and members of his organisation stopped a lorry at the Krishnagiri Aavin Flyover. The lorry smelled of dung and urine which “made him and the others suspicious” and based on his suspicion, he alerted a police vehicle on patrol and asked them to investigate the lorry, he said.
Raguram further claimed in the complaint that there were 38 buffaloes in the lorry with no food or water nor any certification for slaughter. They looked weak and were packed too closely together. He also claimed in the same complaint that the lorry driver did not have necessary documentation for transporting cattle from one state to another. On the basis of his complaint, an FIR was registered under sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Transport of Animals Rules, 1978.
An old YouTube video launching the Tamil Nadu Gau Raksha Dal claimed they have saved lakhs of cows in Tamil Nadu. In the video, an unidentified man said, “We are working legally at the national level to stop cow smuggling and transportation for consumption. Until now, we have saved lakhs of cows across the country. Similarly we have saved thousands of cows in Tamil Nadu. We have consistently been registering cases and taking legal action.” The man also went on to say that the Tamil Nadu Gau Raksha Dal is working in villages to teach people how to make dairy products ‘properly’ and are conducting ‘awareness programmes’. The man added, “On behalf of the Tamil Nadu Gau Raksha, if you are aware of any wrongful incidents related to cow smuggling and beef shops, notify the above number.”
While cattle traders said Raguram Sharma is an extortionist who seizes cattle working with the police, he maintained that his motive is to prevent animal cruelty. “I am following the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Transport of Animals Rules.” Raguram said that it is the ‘fundamental duty of an Indian citizen’ to do what he does, “Anyone can do this. Not just me, you can do it too according to Article 51A(g).”
When asked about the allegations of extortion, Raguram said he and his organisation had nothing to do with it, but acknowledged that it happens. He also declined to comment on who, according to his knowledge, were the ones involved in the alleged extortion racket. “That’s not my job. There is no need for me to say who they are, what their name is. I don’t need to. My hands are clean. We take the legal way by filing cases, we will go till the Supreme Court to fight and carry out animal relief.”
Raguram also referred to specifications in the Animal Transport Rules. These guidelines specify that only one animal per two square metres is allowed. “If this is complied with, it is not possible to transport more than six animals even in a big lorry. They (beef traders) also illegally extend the lorry. They increase the length by 10 to 15 feet. Actually, the lorry’s length from the cabin to the end is only about 28 to 32 feet, they increase it up to 40 feet.” he said.
Anbuvendan countered these allegations saying that such modifications are made after receiving the assent of relevant authorities. A letter from the State Animal Husbandry Department to the Beef Traders association in Chennai was shared with TNM. This letter acknowledged that the NHAI has sent a notification to all the Regional Transport Officers and Motor Vehicle Inspectors in unit offices to register new vehicles and to issue licences for vehicle modifications as required for transporting cattle.
Cattle traders also alleged that people like Raguram confiscate their cattle and do not give them back despite court orders.
Cattle seized at checkposts are shifted to gaushalas. Traders further said it was a challenge each time to identify which gaushala their cattle were at and even then they are often told that the animals had died. “If we ask them for photographic proof of the carcasses or the burial site, they refuse,” said Dheenadayalan, a Chennai-based beef merchant, “We believe that they sell the animals after seizing them from us.”
Traders also said that the cows are mostly taken to private gaushalas which makes retrieving their cattle harder. At government-run gaushalas, they can show the purchase documents, but despite asking the police to ensure this, the cows are taken to private ones. They further alleged that when cow-vigilantes stop their lorries, the police are present and are the ones who actually take the cows away to the gaushalas.
“Even the lorries that are seized along with the cows are not returned in the same condition. The vehicles are in a state of disrepair when they are returned,” a trader alleged.