Bhartiya Gau Raksha Dal

Actions

Supporting the creation of new cattle protection groups, the organization has already set up more than 32 cattle protection groups in different states in India. It has spear-headed a campaign against the killing of cattle, filling many complaints against those who were found to be killers. They have a member who was appointed to the cattle protection state committee in Punjab, strengthening the group's influence. They openly participate in television debates and public meetings to support cattle protection groups, such as in the Akhlaq murder case.

On the 25th of June, 2016, two organization members were shot allegedly by cattle smugglers, and on July 27th, the Indian news channel NDTV aired a debate in which it was reported by Pawan Pandit that 100 volunteers in cattle protection movements were shot by cattle smugglers, later he further reported that approximately 44,000 cases of cattle smuggling have occurred in all of India but the media didn't broadcast anything about this report.

Awards

The organization has created two different awards to be given to cattle protection movements, the "Hindu Ratna Awards" and the "Cattle Guard Honor Awards" (Gau Rakshak Samman Puraskar), which were introduced by Pawan Pandit, both being given for the promotion of cattle protection by volunteers and promotion of the Hindu religion.

Controversies

Since the election of the Hindu nationalist "Bhartiya Janata Party" (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi in May 2014, members of the BGRD have been allegedly involved in numerous incidents of lynching cattle traders, mostly from minority Muslim and Dalits. In BJP-led states, Their method of operation is raiding trucks carrying cattle, beating the driver and whoever is with him, sometimes almost killing them, force-feeding them cow dung and urine, making videos and posting online, in most cases without any intervention by law-enforcing authorities. The most notorious of all such incidents so far is the killing of Akhlaq, a 52-year-old Muslim man from Bisara village near Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, by local organization activists over a rumor that he and his family members have consumed beef. The most recent of such atrocities has happened on July 11, 2016 in Una, Gujarat, where a group of cattle protectors stripped and publicly flogged four Dalit youths for skinning a dead cow, which the group claimed was killed by them; however, an eye-witness later confirmed that the cow was in fact killed by a lion. The incident caused a nationwide protests by Dalits and rights groups, who believe these brutalities are part of a larger strategy of RSS and it's affiliates to oppress and persecute religious minorities and backward classes.

On July 31st, 2016, NDTV has aired a report which shows a mob of organization members forcibly stopping a truck on the outskirts of Pune, Maharashtra, yanking the driver out, snatching his phone, and pushing his truck to a police station. The report further elaborates on how the so called cattle protectors and other activists take money to guarantee safe passage for cattle transporters.

The BGRD founder, Pawan Pandit strongly condemn any violence against humanity, stating that the organization is against the violence and is working on social ground with the police, yet there's a strong media backlash stating that vigilantes have no right to police anyone.