A man in Belagavi has lodged a complaint against five Sri Rama Sene members, accusing them of attempting to extort money by falsely claiming that the cattle he was transporting was intended for slaughter.
This is a rare instance in which self-styled cow vigilantes in Karnataka have been booked for waylaying vehicles transporting cattle. However, the complainant too has been booked along with others for assaulting the Sri Rama Sene activists.
Shivaputra Basavanni Sanadi, a resident of Sultanapur village, lodged a complaint with the Yamakanmardi police station, in Belagavi district, accusing five Sri Rama Sene activists of waylaying his vehicle accusing him of transporting cattle for slaughter and slapping him.
Based on the complaint, police have filed against the Sri Rama Sene members who included one Mahaveer Sollapure, a rowdy-sheeter, according to the police. They were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 191(2) (rioting), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), and 190 (unlawful assembly).
Superintendent of Police Bheemashankar S Guled told TNM that the incident goes back to June 26, when Sri Rama Sene activists intercepted a vehicle transporting cattle, alleging that the animals were being taken for slaughter. The vehicle was taken to the Hukkeri police station.
However, after the owner of the cattle, Babusab Ramjansab Multani, produced valid documents showing the cattle were intended for dairy farming, the animals were returned to him on June 28. Later that day, when Shivaputra was transporting the cattle from the Goshala around 12.30 pm, the Sri Rama Sene activists accosted his vehicle again. Frightened, he drove towards Babusab’s house in Ingali village.
Sri Rama Sene members allegedly entered Babusab’s house, in an attempt to reclaim the cows. At the time, only women were present in the house. Villagers alleged the youth misbehaved with the women and trespassed under the pretext of cow protection. Angered by the alleged misbehaviour with the women, the villagers tied the five men to a tree and beat them with sticks, as seen in the viral video.
SP Bheemashankar S Guled told TNM that the police had registered a suo moto case against Shivaputra, Babusab and others after the video surfaced online and have arrested four people so far. The FIR has been registered under Sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), 3(5) (crime committed with common intention) of the BNS.
He said that the police registered the case as Sri Rama Sene members declined to file the complaint. “We encouraged them to come forward, but they refused,” he said.
However, Sri Rama Sene later claimed in statements to the media that police had refused to accept their complaint and file a case.
Refuting these claims, the SP told the media on June 30, “If we have rejected their complaint, let them show the proof of the written complaint, they must have it. We have CCTV footage. Every police station is under CCTV surveillance, we have verified through the footage that they (Sri Rama Sene members) have not given any complaint.”
The SP also revealed that one of the Sri Rama Sene Members – Mahaveer Sollapure –was a rowdy-sheeter who had been externed from Belagavi district.
“This act by the villagers is a violation of law and order, and we have taken action according to the law. However, the victims are not entirely innocent, one of them, Mahaveer Sollapure, is a rowdy-sheeter who is under externment. Why is the Sri Rama Sene allowing a rowdy sheeter under externment to carry out activities using their name? Who gave them the right to barge into someone’s home?” the SP said.
He also denied Sri Rama Sene’s allegations that those who attacked the Rama Sene activists were Muslim. “One of the accused is a Hindu. This is not a case of communal violence,” the SP said.