Gau Rakshaks rescued 63 cows and calves while they were on the way to a noted abattoir on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Monday.
The cows were stuffed in a huge container with two lids on the top kept open so that they can breathe. The entire rescue operation was monitored by the lone BJP legislator in Telangana, Raja Singh Lodh. The MLA helped the activists in detaining the truck driver and initiating the legal process.
Shamirpet police inspector B Naveen Reddy told reporters that, the driver of the truck was taken into custody and arrangements have been made for sending the rescued cows to notified sheds. “A case has been registered under various sections of the Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act,” he said.
According to the driver of the truck the cows were being transported from Narasannapet in Andhra’s Srikakulam bordering Odisha to Al Kabeer in Sangareddy district. Local activists in Shamirpet area on Hyderabad outskirt got a tip-off about the vehicle carrying cows and calves and kept a watch on the highway.
Raja Singh, the legislator who has taken cow protection as his prime duty, said the activists had recorded a major achievement in cow protection. Al Kabeer is a slaughterhouse situated near Rudraram village about 60 km from Hyderabad. BJP state unit has been time and again fighting with the local authorities not to allow illegal transport of bovines.
Police believe the cows were bought from poor farmers in the border villages of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. A large number of cattle also reach Hyderabad from the drought-prone Rayalaseema region for slaughter.