Indore: Cow vigilantes, municipal staff clash over 'illegal' gaushala

Cow vigilantes and municipal employees clashed in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday during the removal of a cow shelter as part of an anti-encroachment drive, and some government vehicles were damaged during the incident, officials said.

While the protest was led by the Bajrang Dal, the police said no complaint has been registered over the incident yet.

The cow shelter in the city's Dutt Nagar area had been constructed without any permission and it was being removed on a complaint from local residents, said Indore Municipal Corporation deputy commissioner Lata Agarwal.

As per her information, two or three municipal employees were beaten up, but it also came to light that both sides were involved in the fight, she said.

A few vehicles of the municipal corporation were damaged, she confirmed, adding that appropriate action will be taken on the instructions of the municipal commissioner.

Local Bajrang Dal convenor Praveen Darekar claimed that the gaushala in Dutt Nagar was nearly 30 years old. When the cows were being shifted to the corporation's gaushala, 20–25 cows were put in a single vehicle and 5–7 of them were injured, he alleged.

"People from the Hindu community" were enraged by this incident and when they protested, municipal employees misbehaved with them, Darekar claimed.

"If a police case is registered against any of our workers, we will also have a case registered against the corporation employees," Darekar added.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Vinod Kumar Meena said the police have not received any complaint from either side, and investigations will be conducted if a complaint is received.

Videos of the incident on social media showed a heated argument, during which some people smashed, with sticks, the glass panes of the vehicle in which the cows were being shifted to a municipal shelter.