Have Gau Rakshaks in UP Become Stronger Under CM Yogi’s Watch?

According to Fact Checker, UP reported the highest number of bovine-related attacks in 2018.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/The Quint)

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

Almost 70 percent of all cases of violence inflicted by gau rakshaks in Uttar Pradesh during the last eight years – between 2010 to 2018 – have taken place after Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister.

Between 2010 and 2018, Uttar Pradesh reported 16 attacks by gau rakshaks. However, data reveals that 11 of these 16 attacks took place only after June 2017. So, almost 70 percent of all violence unleashed by cow-protection groups in Uttar Pradesh took place after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2017, headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

According to a Fact Checker report, Uttar Pradesh now reports the highest number of violent incidents involving gau rakshaks. These are cases in which people are hurt or even killed on the mere suspicion of cow-slaughter or cow-smuggling.

In 2016, the year before Yogi came to power, there were two incidents involving gau rakshaks in UP, which left one person dead. In 2018, the number of incidents increased to six and the number of deaths to four.

The latest victims of this scary trend are two people in UP's Bulandshahr. One of them, Subodh Kumar Singh, a police inspector, was chased, stoned and eventually shot dead by a mob that had gathered after finding a cow carcass dumped in a nearby forest. A 20-year-old college student also died, after he was caught in the crossfire.

Cows More Important Than Police Force for CM?

After a cop gets killed on-duty, that too at the hand of gau rakshaks, you would expect any CM to ask for strict action against these cow vigilantes. But reports say that in a meeting with the top cops of the state, Yogi Adityanath had decided to focus more on those involved with cow slaughter instead of those responsible for the violence. The question to ask here is, does the CM care more about cows than he does about his own police force?

While Yogi remains mostly silent on the issue of gau rakshaks going on a rampage, the worrying trend in Uttar Pradesh is only a part of the larger problem.

In today's India, the chance of such mob violence involving gau rakshaks ending in death has risen by from 30 percent in 2017 to 48 percent in 2018.

And the statistics get worse, if you are a Muslim.

Because data form Fact Checker suggests that Muslims make up for around 55 percent of those attacked and 86 percent of those killed by gau rakshaks in India.

Because even after you are hurt or killed, a BJP minister may deny the incident, or even garland those accused of killing in the name of cow.