Bhubaneswar: Tension prevailed near Palasuni Square in Bhubaneswar on Saturday after a group of self-proclaimed cow vigilantes allegedly attacked milk farmers, transporting cattle from Andhra Pradesh, leading to the death of a calf.
According to sources, milk farmers from Sithalo village in Cuttack district had purchased four cows and three calves from Andhra Pradesh with financial assistance under the Odisha government’s flagship programme, ‘Mukhyamantri Kamadhenu Yojana’. They were intercepted by a group of men, claiming to be members of a cow protection outfit, while they were transporting the cattle in two vehicles.
The youths allegedly demanded proof of procurement but dismissed the valid papers as fake and instead demanded money from them. When the farmer refused, they allegedly assaulted him. The farmers were reportedly striped and made to kneel. A calf reportedly died in the melee that followed.
The distressed farmers later reached Mancheswar Police Station and lodged a complaint. They also staged a protest with the calf’s carcass on the road, demanding stringent action against the youths.
A similar incident had taken place on August 28, when a group of 50 youths forcefully stopped pickup trucks on the Baramunda overbridge and began attacking farmers with iron rods when they were transporting 19 cows and calves from Andhra Pradesh in six pick-up trucks. The vandalism continued despite the farmers possessing government documents of procuring the cows for milk production. They also snatched away Rs 70,000 from them.
The Odisha Milk Farmers’ Association (OMFA) and other social organisations had then demanded stringent action against this group of cow vigilantes.