PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS
Press Conference and Release of Report
Cow Vigilantism: Crime, Community and Livelihood
January 2016 to March 2018
Between January 2016 and March 2018, PUDR documented 136 incidents of violence and intimidation around issues of cow slaughter and beef across 22 states,
based on media reporting as well as fact-finding reports. In the course
of documentation, we came across a wide array of incidents where the
forms of targeting ranged from murder, assault,sexual violence, stripping, arson,
vandalism, to interception, seizure of animals and vehicles,
harassment, humiliation, forced closure of meat shops and eateries, extortion and civilians acting as an extra-judicial arm of the police, all in the name of ‘cow protection’. We have documented 20 instances of reported deaths in which 29 persons died and 13 cases of attacks on Dalits, overwhelmingly in Gujarat. 75 % of attacks in incidents where the identities of the victims could be ascertained, were against Muslims. Our report maps the patterns of cow vigilantism emerging from our data and the conclusions arrived at by PUDR
Please join us for a press conference and discussion at:
Date: 22 March 2018, Thursday
Time: 4 pm - 5.30 pm
Venue: PRESS CLUB OF INDIA
Shahana, Shashi
Secretaries, PUDR
