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Punjab Gau Raksha Dal chief arrested; accused of torture, sodomy

Punjab police booked Satish Kumar earlier this month for allegedly assaulting some persons on pretext of cow protection.

Chadigarh: Nearly two weeks after he was booked, Punjab police on Sunday arrested the chief of Punjab Gau Raksha Dal for allegedly thrashing people in the name of cow protection.

ANI reported that Patiala police arrested Satish Kumar, Punjab Gau Rakshak Dal Chief. He was booked for abduction and under other sections of IPC.

The Patiala Police arrested Kumar from Vrindavan town in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening following a raid. His location was intercepted through mobile.

A case under sections 382 (having made preparation for causing death), 384 (committing extortion), 341 (wrongfully restraining any person), along with sections 148 and 149, of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was also registered, said reports.

Several people who have been victimized by the Gau Raksha Dal in Punjab told the police that they were detained by the self-styled cow vigilantes, robbed and tortured. Shockingly, Satish Kumar also sodomised them.

Punjab police booked Satish Kumar earlier this month for allegedly assaulting some persons on pretext of cow protection, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the states to act against "fake" cow protectors.

The FIR was lodged on the basis of a video clip which appeared on social media, showing Gau Raksha Dal members brutally thrashing people, SSP Gurmeet Chauhan said on Monday.

A case under sections 382 (having made preparation for causing death), 384 (committing extortion), 341 (wrongfully restraining any person), along with sections 148 and 149, of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered, police said.

Kumar had alleged that the Prime Minister's remarks against cow vigilantism were motivated by "votebank politics" due to upcoming elections in many states.

"The PM's statement is politically motivated. It is one-sided. If he had warned the butchers not to slaughter or smuggle cow, then his statement would have been justified.

"He is doing vote bank politics to get the butchers' vote," Kumar had said. He said the police were free to arrest him.

The Prime Minister's statement denunciating cow vigilantism came after a string of incidents of attacks on Dalits, including in Una, Gujarat where some youths were brutally assaulted for skinning a dead cow.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle / ANI )
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