Gau Rakshak Dal chief, booked for sodomy, arrested by Patiala police

Chandigarh: The Patiala police on Sunday arrested Gau Rakshak Dal chief Satish Kumar, a fortnight after he was booked for sodomy, rioting, extortion and other charges'.

Rajpura SP, Rajinder Singh Sohal confirmed the report and said that Kumar, who had been on the run since past 10 days, is under their arrest. He, however refused to divulge any further details. 

Kumar, who was arrested by the police outside Punjab, was produced before the local District Magistrate court today afternoon after which he was sent to one day police remand. 

Kumar was on the run ever since he was booked under Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalises unnatural sex, after a youth from Saharanpur alleged he was abducted and sodomised by the Gau Raksha Dal chief’s goons. 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.

One of the victims, who hails from Saharanpur, had told a judicial magistrate that Kumar along with 10-15 goons had forcibly taken him to a cow shelter in Rajpura where he was sodomised. He also claimed that some goons even urinated in his mouth. 

Another victim, who had complaint of being sodomised, told the police last week that he was detained by the self-styled cow vigilantes, robbed, tortured and sodomised by Kumar.

Based on the complaints, the police booked the Gau Raksha Dal chief under charges of abduction with intent to hurt, wrongful confinement and other Sections of the IPC.  

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.