Due to extreme fright and trepidation instilled in the illegal cow slaughterers, the anxiousness has now spread to cattle transporters.
Cattle transporters from the Minority community are unwilling to transport cattle both within Rajasthan and to other states.
Cattle from Rajasthan are transported to slaughterhouses on a daily basis. Transporters used to commute cattle from Rajasthan to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and in other states.
The ghastly ‘Pehlu Khan murder’ case has instilled fear amongst all transporters. Pehlu Khan was killed by ‘Gau-rakshaks’ in the name of cow-slaughterer.
Gau-rakshaks didn’t kill a cattle smuggler but a dairy farmer. An innocent dairy farmer succumbed to death due to hare-brained Gau-rakshaks, even while he was ferrying legal cows from Behror road.
Transporters carrying goats are also being ridiculed and assaulted on their way. Another driver spelled out: Earlier, I used to make three trips to Delhi every week. Now, I have asked my owner to change my duty schedule.
“My Muslim drivers have refused to ferry any animal to slaughterhouses or ‘mandi’ for sale. The fear is so high that they are ready to return the advance paid to them. We are looking for drivers from other communities who can ferry animals for slaughter. This too appears to be difficult,” said a transporter who has 20 trucks ferrying animals.
Some transporters are doling out money to vigilante groups and cops for hassle-free commuting. “This has become terrible. We have to pay bribes to the police and in some cases to vigilante groups for safe passage,” said another transporter.
“Since ages, we have been buying buffaloes and, all of a sudden, we cannot do our business. We are not trained to do anything else. Is the government listening,” questioned Shafiq Qureshi, another wholesale meat seller whose business has been busted.
Cattle mandi-vendors too have been struck hard with this menacing situation. These vendors are struggling hard to earn their livelihood as there is no other revenue-source for many of them, except the cattle trade.
‘Mandis’ in Jaipur, Tonk, Nasirabad, Sikar and Nagaur are the targets
Amongst those suffering the brunt of Gau-rakshaks violent strides are traders which belong to Hindu and Muslim community.
