The Uttarakhand government has also stepped up its crackdown on cow smuggling and slaughter, with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announcing cow protection as one of their highest priority. The state police have, in a decisive step, resorted to the Gangster Act against 14 persons who have been charged with cow killing in three districts, with history sheets being opened on 25 others to ensure that they are closely monitored. The ruling indicates that the government is willing to prosecute such crimes as organized crime that need the toughest action of the law.
Official reports show 515 cases of cow smuggling have been registered in the state, where 1,588 accused have been named. The state police have also had 23 incidents with smugglers, and in these cases, weapons and beef are confiscated. These experiences demonstrate the high level of organization in the illegal business and the size of the networks active in the area. The application of the Gangster Act, which is typically applied to hardcore criminals and mafia, by the government highlights its will to smash the backbone of cow smuggling gangs.
The Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, has asked police and district administrations to deal with cow smugglers mercilessly. By emphasizing that cow protection is both an emotional and cultural concern of Uttarakhand, he instructed the authorities to have a zero-tolerance stance. He also stated that there should be no mercy towards repeat offenders, and preventive strategies have to be put in place to curb such activities at the earliest stages.
This preventive strategy includes the opening of the history sheets of 25 accused people. When history sheets are accessed, police are able to trace the movements of such individuals, curtail their activities, and collect intelligence to ensure that such individuals do not repeat the activities of smuggling. This will discourage those who commit crimes regularly and destabilize all the networks that support smuggling.
The ruthless move taken by the government shows the cultural feeling as well as that of law and order in Uttarakhand. The state in which cows are considered as sacred in the predominantly Hindu society and the issue of cow protection has been an emotional one. Through bold action, the state government aims to assure the citizens that it will uphold the principles of religion and, in the process, bring down organized crime.
As the campaign mounts, the police are supposed to go on further cracking down, and cases are being registered as more suspects are under further scrutiny. The recent events portend a strong message that bovine smuggling and slaughter will not be condoned in Uttarakhand, and the perpetrators of this will never suffer the harsh arm of the law.
