A group of concerned advocates, researchers, and social activists have alleged rising cow vigilantism in Bengaluru during Eid celebrations, and called for immediate intervention by taking such vigilantes into preventive detention.
In a statement issued on Saturday, advocate B.T. Venkatesh, along with activists Vinay Sreenivasa, Zia Nomani and Sylvia Karpagam, flagged instances of cow vigilantism over the last few days by Hindutva activist Puneeth Kerehalli, who is notorious for such raids.
Over the last three days in the run up to Eid, Puneeth Kerehalli has conducted at least three ‘raids’ in which he trespassed into private properties and took away cattle in the garb of ‘rescuing’ them in Tannery Road, Ahmednagar, and Shivajinagar. He has broadcast these acts live on his Facebook page. He was detained by R.R. Nagar police over one such incident, but was later released, sources said.
Notably, this is not the first time Puneeth Kerehalli has carried out such acts. He was arrested for murder in 2023 when a cattle transporter was killed during one such acts of vigilantism by him.
The complaint, submitted to the Bengaluru City police, calls for the preventive detention of such individuals under relevant provisions of the CrPC or the Goonda Act. The group claims that these activities are being carried out under the guise of animal rights enforcement, but amount to criminal trespass and communal provocation.
