Hyderabad: Cattle traders in the city have asked the police to provide them protection from cow vigilantes so that they are not unnecessarily harassed on the pretext of law enforcement, during the upcoming Bakrid.
At a coordination meeting with the cattle traders, Muslim scholars, government officials and police officials held on Friday, and chaired by the Hyderabad city police commissioner, M. Mahender Reddy, the traders said they were facing financial problems due the “unnecessary restrictions”.
The problem is more prevalent in the city outskirts like Narsingi, Shamshabad, Hayathnagar, Bhongir, Ibrahimpatnam and Uppal where the police arbitrarily register cases for “cruelty against animals”. “Our cattle are also confiscated though we are not bringing in any cows into the city for sacrifice or slaughter out of respect to other communities,” said Jamiat ul Quresh Secretary Mr Fareeduddin Qureshi.
The commissioner assured the community that he would take the issue to the notice of higher authorities and resolve it. However, he advised the traders to follow the rules while transporting and buying cattle.
The city police also held a meeting with the Ganesh Utsav Committee and Ganesh pandal organisers and took note of their problems. Mr Reddy said that a control room will be opened at the Sardar Mahal GHMC office and the organisers could register their grievances. He said that close to 25,000 police personnel are being deployed to ensure a peaceful Ganesh festival.
