On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Police filed an FIR against 12-15 miscreants for launching an attack on the gaurakshaks in the Apparaopeth village of Kinwat taluka in Maharashtra’s Nanded district. The miscreants attacked around 8 gaurakshaks and hit them with sharp weapons and sticks on the night of June 19 killing one and injuring five. The accused have been booked under sections 302, 307, 143, 147, 148, 159, and 427 of the IPC and sections 4 and 7 of the Arms Act.
As per the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the victim persons have been identified as Shekhar Rapelli, Sopan Pentewar, Mahesh Kondalwad, Dnyaneshwar Karlewad, Vishal Mendewad, Vitthal Anantwar, Balaji Raulwad and Suryakant Karlewad. Among these, Shekhar Rapelli is said to have died on the spot while the other victims are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The incident is said to have happened on June 19 at around 11:30 pm. As per the complaint registered by one of the victims named Sopan Pentewar, they were attacked by 12-15 unknown miscreants while on their way home from Telangana. “We had gone to a relative’s place for a function. While on our way home, we came across a white Bolero pickup. We found the car suspicious so we followed it and stopped them at Malakjam area to check what was in the vehicle. On asking the driver, suddenly 10-12 people from the vehicle got down with sticks and sharp weapons. Later when some of us moved towards the vehicle to check what was in there, miscreants attacked from behind injuring 4 of us severely,” the FIR copy read.
Pentewar further said that one of the victims, Shekhar Rapelli was attacked with a sharp weapon after which he collapsed on the spot. The accused persons are also said to have attacked the vehicle in which the victims were travelling. As per the complaint, the victims then managed to reach the government hospital in Shivni where the doctors declared Shekhar as already dead. The other victims persons are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
As per the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) the accused persons are cow and guthka smugglers and are members of Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang. However, the same is yet to be confirmed by the authorities. Locals and activists tolld OpIndia that Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob has a huge hold on illegal guthka trade in the city and around the Shivni area. He also is said to be associated with the PFI organization which has been banned by the Indian government. Further, according to the sources, the Police at present are interrogating the relatives of the victim persons.
Shekhar Rapelli dead, 6 injured in an attack by #cow n gutkha smuggler Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang!
— Legal Rights Observatory- LRO (@LegalLro) June 20, 2023
SP @NandedPolice Kokate's role in aiding Sheikh gang needs thorough probe; last time Nanded Police had thrashed Gaurakshaks to help smugglers!
We urge HM @Dev_Fadnavis for action! pic.twitter.com/PUkeFaB82w
Superintendent of Police, Nanded, Shri Krishna Kokate confirmed the incident and said that the police has launched a manhunt to nab the accused. “A group of people, residents of Nanded, were coming from Telangana. They had got information about a suspicious vehicle carrying cows illegally. The group (gaurakshaks) followed the vehicle when people from the vehicle carrying the cattle attacked them with sharp weapons. In this incident, one died and 6 others were injured for which they are being treated at a local hospital. Nanded police has lodged an FIR and the search for the accused is underway,” SP was quoted as saying.
Nanded SP says teams formed to nab the accused in Nanded gaurakshak killing case from OpIndia Videos on Vimeo.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Kiran Bechiwar also commented on the issue and said that the victim persons have now been shifted to a hospital in Nanded. He also condemned the attack and could be heard saying that, “The police has formed 2-3 teams to look for the accused who have been charged of murder. No one has yet been arrested. We strongly condemn the incident and will keep the dead body till all the accused members are arrested.”
VHP leader Kiran Bichewar condemns the Nanded gaurakshak killing incident from OpIndia Videos on Vimeo.
One of the local BJP leader, Prakash Gade further talked to OpIndia this morning to further confirm that all the accused have been identified by the Police and that an SIT has been formed to investigate the case. Notably, the local persons of Nanded district yesterday had launched a protest outside the hospital demanding strict action against the accused persons. They also had called for ‘Nanded Bandh’ on June 21 (today) but the protests were revoked after the Police lodged an FIR and assured action in the case.
This video is of villagers in Nanded protesting today outside a hospital, where a youth died last night after being stabbed by cow smugglers and beef traders
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) June 20, 2023
Five other youths are hospitalised. They were trying to stop illegal beef activities when the criminals attacked them in… pic.twitter.com/PNJYRLC8Kz
Cow protection has been painted as a ‘communal’ issue where gaurakshaks are depicted as rogue groups that attack ‘innocent’ Muslims transporting cows to slaughterhouses. Cattle are a source of livelihood for millions in rural India and are loved as their family members. Cows, especially, are also considered holy by Hindus and slaughtering them is considered to be a sin.
The government has imposed a ban on cow slaughter as per the Animal Welfare Act. In spite of this, numerous cows, bullocks, cattle, and other animals are smuggled across Telangana state at night in both large and small vehicles from the state of Maharashtra.
Earlier, in February this year, the Nanded police had arrested the gaurakshaks and allowed 8 smugglers to allegedly escape. A cop from Nanded was suspended after a video showing him brutally beating up many youths who were stopping cow smugglers had gone viral over social media. The cop was identified as Islapur Police’s API (Assistant Police Inspector) Raghunath Shewale.
LRO then had said that Shewale had thrashed the Gaurakshaks, who are Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal (BD) members as they tried to stop two vehicles carrying smuggled cattle. It also pointed out that the cops allowed 8 cow smugglers to escape and instead arrested the youths who were gaurakshaks.
In the given case, the accused persons are believed to be the members of the Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang and have been booked under sections 302, 307, 143, 147, 148, 159, and 427 of the IPC and sections 4 and 7 of the Arms Act.
