Naveen Menezes
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NM)
Mangalore, Apr 22: The killing of 24-year-old Kabeer, a cattle trader from Krishnapura, Suratkal, at Sringeri reportedly by the Anti Naxal Force (ANF) personnel shows how risky it is for cattle traders to venture into the business. The district has been a blind witness to a number of physical attacks on cattle traders, most attacks carried out by the ‘moral police’ even before the police reach the spot.
The increasing threat to life and assault has created a sense of panic among the cattle traders in the city.
File Photo
"We have to risk our lives for our livelihood," says 52-year-old Mohammed Haneef of Vamanjoor who is in the cattle trading business since the age of 24. "Previously, our vehicle transporting cattle was stopped allegedly by the right wing activists. We had to run for our lives or else we would have been beaten mercilessly. They don’t even want to know whether we have the purchase receipt of cows. For them, transporting cows is in itself a crime," he says.
This is the common fear among the cattle traders in the district. There are hundreds of cases registered in the police station of physical assault allegedly by right wing activists while carrying out cattle trade. A case of mercilessly thrashing five persons at Kudupu is a recent example.
The right wing activists claim that they try to stop cattle trafficking because the police do not take action swiftly. "Cattle belonging to poor farmers have been reported stolen in many places including Suratkal. Sometimes, the cattle are dumped mercilessly inside the transporting vehicle. These cruel means of cattle trading pains us," says Bajrang Dal leader Sharan Pumpwell.
Muneer Katipalla of DYFI feels that it is the police who should be taking action and no one else. "If illegal trading is reported, why can't they inform the police, and why do they assault?" he questions.
However, the unlawful methods have affected the legal cattle traders. Haneef says, "Cattle trading is the only business I have been doing for over 25 years. I have a son who earns less and I have a daughter who is of a marriageable age. My family keeps telling me not to venture into this business. I am perplexed."
The family has a strong reason to stop him from continuing this business. A number of assaults have sent families into a state of worry and fear, and more shocking is the truth that there is nothing concrete happening even after a police complaint is filed. That the business was highly risky was what even Kabeer's parents told him, and sadly for them, their worst nightmare came true when their son was shot dead by ANF personnel.
Earlier in a press meet, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had condemned the increasing number of cattle thefts in the region and demanded that cattle thieves be booked under Goonda Act. A sensible demand, one may say, but to kill a cattle trader on mere suspicion, irrespective of whether the cattle were being transported legally or not, can never be justified.
Skyrocketing meat prices
Due to the decrease in cattle trading, the price of beef has gone north. Says 62-year-old Pascal D’Souza, "A few years back, I remember buying one kilogram beef for Rs 50, however, today it is Rs 160. Earlier, we bought beef because it was cheap while chicken, pork and mutton were costlier. Today, all these have become costly."