Vigilantes kill BJP worker transporting cows in Udupi

UDUPI (KARNATAKA): A BJP worker was killed by members of a right-wing vigilante group here on Wednesday night, the first such attack on a member of the saffron party

UDUPI (KARNATAKA): A BJP worker was killed by members of a right-wing vigilante group here on Wednesday night, the first such attack on a member of the saffron party by so-called cow protectors.

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Praveen Poojary, 28 and 20-year-old Akshay Devadiga were surrounded by more than 17 people who stopped their vehicle carrying cattle near Hebri town.

“Hindu Jagarana Vedike members accused them of taking the calves to a slaughter house... Poojary succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Brahmavara,” Udupi district superintendent of police KT Balakrishna said, according to PTI.

Protection of cow, regarded by Hindus as a holy animal, has become a political issue after vigilantes — several of them linked to Sangh Parivar organisations — have attacked and killed people on suspicion of killing the animal or consuming its meet.

On Thursday, a town in Western Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district turned tense after nearly 150kg of suspected cow meat was seized and two Muslims, including a 60-year-old woman, were arrested.