Pune: Wanowrie police have registered a case against five to six people, suspected cow vigilantes, for allegedly assaulting a 54-year-old driver transporting buffaloes near Lullanagar on Sunday.Police said the accused intercepted the vehicle around 1pm, suspecting illegal cow transport. They allegedly dragged the driver out and assaulted him.The driver, Papa Fakhruddin Shaikh, told TOI he was attacked both near Lullanagar and later at the police station. “I was transporting buffaloes from Market Yard to Keshavnagar for a milk farmer when two people in a four-wheeler stopped my vehicle near a gas station and assaulted me, claiming I was transporting cows for slaughter,” he said.Shaikh said he escaped but later received a call from the buffalo owner, asking him to come to the station, assuring him all documents were in order. “When I reached, a group had gathered. They dragged me from my vehicle and assaulted me again. Police intervened, noting CCTV footage outside the station, after which the accused fled,” he added.Shaikh was taken to Sassoon Hospital, where medical tests, including an X-ray, confirmed swelling in his rib cage. Police confirmed only buffaloes were being legally transported from the market to the milk farmer’s cattle shed.Sub-inspector Shekhar Mokate said one person has been named in the FIR, while four to five others remain unidentified.A case has been registered against the accused under sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, including wrongful restraint, unlawful assembly, rioting, and criminal intimidation. A separate FIR was filed against the driver and vehicle owner under relevant sections for alleged violation of animal transport norms.Taj Siddiqui of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) alleged delay in filing the FIR. “The vehicle carried seven buffaloes with all documents in order. Despite the assault at the police station, the victim waited nearly three hours before his statement was recorded,” he said.Siddiqui added that such incidents are rising, particularly in rural areas. “Authorities acting as mute spectators embolden these elements instead of curbing these crimes,” he said.
