Hyderabad, Oct 23 (PTI) Three persons, including a cattle transporter, were arrested on Thursday for allegedly shooting at a 28-year-old cow vigilante, police said.
The incident occurred in Ghatkesar on Wednesday evening, when the prime accused, a 24-year-old, who is into the cattle transport business, opened fire at B Prashanth Kumar alias Sonu Singh, a cow vigilante attached to an outfit called ‘Gau Rakshak Dal’.
According to police, Kumar was called to the location by one of his friends, where he met the other accused and they had a discussion for an hour.
The accused confronted him for exposing their “illegal” cattle transportation, and in the ensuing argument, the prime accused retrieved a gun from his car and allegedly shot Kumar on the right side of the chest before all of them fled, police said.
On receiving information, police rushed to the scene and got the injured shifted to a hospital. A surgery was conducted and one bullet was retrieved from his body. His condition is stated to be “out of danger”, police said.
Speaking to reporters, Rachakonda Police Commissioner G Sudheer Babu said police found that they (the accused and the victim) were in regular interaction with each other over the phone since July this year and had also met.
The investigation revealed the motive as retaliation by the cattle transporter on Kumar for allegedly causing an estimated Rs 1 crore loss to him by intercepting his vehicles. It was also found that there was a potential conflict arising from the victim’s alleged demand for Rs 5 lakh to cease his activities, police said.
Special teams were formed, and three out of the four accused were arrested at Shamshabad on Thursday, while another accused is absconding. Police seized one country-made pistol and one car from the possession of the accused.
Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, BJP MP K Laxman, and other party leaders on Thursday met Kumar at the hospital.
Bandi Sanjay Kumar enquired with the doctors about Kumar’s health condition and assured that the BJP will bear all the medical expenses and extend full support to him in every possible way, a release from his office said.
He strongly condemned the attack and sought to know how the accused obtained a gun.
He criticised the Congress government in Telangana, alleging that it is sheltering goons and rowdies.
On the police investigation revealing the motive for the attack, the union minister said, “Saying that Prashant Kumar demanded Rs 5 lakh is vicious. Claiming that the cattle transporter’s business suffered a loss of Rs 1 crore is shameful. Stop the false propaganda.” He further said if the authorities still don’t catch those who slaughter cows, Bajrang Dal activists will not sit idly with folded hands — they themselves will catch them and teach them a fitting lesson.
“Because of the misdeeds of the Congress and BRS, cow slaughter is happening unchecked,” he alleged.
Earlier in the day, Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao and other party leaders and workers were stopped by police when they were planning to organise a protest programme at the office of the Director General of Police (DGP) over the incident.
Meanwhile, Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh requested the Telangana DGP to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the attack on Prashanth Kumar and the alleged misuse of ‘gau raksha’ activities.
In a letter addressed to the DGP, Raja Singh said, according to reports, due to a dispute over an alleged financial demand (Rs 5 lakh) by Kumar, the cattle transporters and his associates attacked Kumar.
“This incident not only highlights criminal elements operating under the guise of ‘gau raksha’ but also brings disrepute to genuine organisations working sincerely for the protection of cows,” he said.
According to the MLA, several such groups in the city “misuse” the name of ‘Gau raksha’ to “extort” money from slaughterhouses and engage in “illegal dealings”.
The SIT should also examine the operations of those indulging in such acts, Raja Singh requested.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
