Gau Raksha Dal chief Satish Kumar arrested, booked under Section 377

On 21 August, the Patiala police arrested Gau Raksha Dal chief Satish Kumar. The arrest comes after Kumar was booked on charges of abduction among other sections and mainly in connection with a social media video showing organisation members brutally thrashing and harassing people in the name of 'cow protection'.

He will be produced before the local District Magistrate court. Kumar had been absconding ever since he was booked on 8 August under Section 377- Unnatural offences.

A case under sections 382 (having made preparation for causing death), 384 (committing extortion), 341 (wrongfully restraining any person), along with sections 148 and 149, of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was also registered, police said.

According to reports, several victims of the group have told the police that they were detained by the self-styled cow vigilantes, robbed, tortured and also sodomised by Satish.

The development came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had strongly rebuked cow vigilantes, saying most of them are 'anti-social' elements who are running 'shops' in the name of cow protection.

In his first comments on the violence against Dalits by cow vigilantes, Prime Minister Modi also asked the state governments to prepare dossiers on the so-called cow protectors as 80 percent of them do illegal activities at night and become cow protectors in the day.

"The people, who are troubled by the unity of the society, are in the name of 'gau rakshaks' attempting to create friction the society. I urge my fellow countrymen to be aware of such 'gau rakshaks'," he said.

--ANI