Uttar Pradesh is among the states with high rate of cow-related violence
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday that Gau Seva Aayog should provide a certificate and provide security if anyone is ferrying a cow from one place to another. This, in his opinion, will prevent incidents like mob lynching.
Mob lynching and cow vigilantism have been a topic of worry and fierce debate across the country. It is alleged that the pretext is used to browbeat minorities but often, religious sentiments are cited when it comes to the practice of beef eating. However, criminal activities under any pretext or excuse are abhorrent indeed.
The government does not maintain specific data with respect to violence and death due to cow vigilantism. Even the National Crime Records Bureau does not maintain any database specific to crimes related to cow vigilantism.
However, IndiaSpend's data says that 86 incidents of cow-related violence were reported from 2012 to 2018 in India. 37 of these incidents were reported in the year 2017 alone. The data says that 288 people were killed in cow-related violence. Majority of the incidents (70 per cent) were reported from North India with Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan topping the list of states with most numbers of cases of cow vigilantism, violence and deaths.
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Watch | To prevent mob lynching, Gau Seva Aayog should provide security to people transporting cows: Yogi Adityanath
