Inhuman:
The way these cattle smugglers jam pack the cattle in small covered up trucks to transport them outside the State is heart curdling. The cows that are considered as mother by the Hindus do not have proper space to breath and stand. Most of them reach the verge of death during transportation.
Slack police:
In recent past 54 cattle were rescued from a 12 wheeler truck at Bhuinpur under Jajpur Sadar police station limits. The driver of the truck escaped from the spot. The kingpins behind this illegal cow smuggling were not nabbed. But the seizure of cattle from the truck hinted that every day hundreds of cows from Odisha are getting smuggled outside the State via Panikoili check gate. But for some reason the trucks carrying them are allowed allowed by local police to pass through.
Dubious police:
In Kendrapara district’s Aul area, activist Subhashis Sadangi and his associate tried to stop a truck transporting cattle illegally on November 28 night. But they allegedly had to face wrath of the local police officials. They were arrested by the police when they tried to alert the local police officials about the illegal cow smuggling. The activists were beaten up and threatened by police for trying to prevent cow smuggling in the area. Videos of the incident went viral on social media. The activists alleged that they had given all details of the cattle smuggling truck to the police officials, but police allowed the truck to pass, while they faced police misbehaviour.
Similar incident has come to fore from Sambalpur district. Tapan Panda, a social activist trying to prevent illegal cow smuggling was allegedly arrested and entangled in false cases by the police. He was arrested and could come out of jail after more than three months.
So, it seems police in Odisha is hand in gloves with the illegal cattle smugglers operating in the State. For some reason they are targeting the activists involved in protection of the Gomata, who are trying hard to stop cow smuggling in Odisha. It is suspected that this cannot happen unless these police officials have some patronage from the political bosses.
Forgotten law:
Odisha Government has enacted the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960. But the law seems to be forgotten by the officials involved in its enforcement. Everyone knows the cattle smuggled out of Odisha are taken to slaughter houses in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana. But the concerned officials, police and State Government prefer to remain silent and allow the cow smuggling to continue.
In 2018 during inspection by a team of the Animal Welfare Board of India, it was decided that the State Government’s Home and Commerce Departments would set up police check posts at major entry points at inter-state borders, create control rooms to receive complaints regarding illegal trafficking or movement of cattle and raise awareness on animal welfare laws. But this decision is lost in the cobwebs of government files. Despite continuous demands by activists CCTV cameras have not been placed at strategic places on the highway to check cattle smuggling.
