Karnataka police have caught a Bajrang Dal leader for abetting cattle theft and slaughter in Karkala near Mangalore. Bajrang Dal is popular for their extremist Hindu views and are self-proclaimed gau-rakshaks (cow protectors). The arrest follows soon after the Karnataka assembly had passed the anti-cow slaughter bill, which had already invited criticisms from many directions. The arrested is Anil Prabhu who is the former convenor of the Karkala division of Bajrang Dal.
According to the police, Anil has been collecting money from cow thieves by offering them protection from the police. He had also lent the same support to cow butchers and had established a network of his own. Confident in his support, one Muhammed Yasin from HUDCO colony, had transported cow meat and cow head. However, a police routine check intercepted him and Yasin evaded them. The police found his vehicle at another location and learnt that he was transporting cow meat.
The police tracked down Yasin and caught another resident in relation to the case. In the police interrogation, Yasin and the second person revealed Anil’s name in the matter and admitted that he had been helping. Yasin also confessed to a larger network of cow thieves who are selling its meet and police are suspecting the Bajrang Dal member to have a part in the network.
