Four dairy farmers were left seriously injured after being attacked by cow vigilantes at Palasuni, Odisha, early Saturday morning. The assault also led to the death of a calf.
This was the second such incident in just ten days, following a similar attack on farmers at Baramunda on August 28.
Bichitrananda Behera, a 60-year-old farmer from Ali Pingal in Jagatsinghpur, recalled the horror. “Under the Kamadhenu Yojana, we had purchased cows from Andhra Pradesh. As we passed through Palasuni, vigilantes blocked our vehicles and began abusing us. When we resisted, they beat us mercilessly,” he said.
Behera said the attackers accused them of being Muslims involved in cattle trading. “Even when we showed valid documents like Aadhaar and government sanction orders, they dismissed them as fake. They hurled communal insults, attacked us, and in the chaos a calf died. Who will take responsibility? We demand stringent action,” he added.
One of the farmers managed to inform the police, prompting officers to rush to the spot. The assailants fled, but the injured farmers later staged a protest, laying the calf’s carcass on the road.
Rabi Behera, president of the Odisha Milk Farmers’ Association, strongly condemned the attack. “These vigilantes are systematically targeting milk producers, often for extortion. With the BJP government in power, their violence has increased while police remain silent. Poor milkmen are being terrorised. The government must act decisively against the vigilantes to send a strong message,” he said.
