Manori Bibi is sitting quietly inside her mud house, holding her two-month-old daughter close to her chest. Her face is expressionless, even though her baby’s first social smile is visible on her face. Under a thatched roof full of holes, torn not by storms but by poverty, in Astiya village in northern Odisha’s Balasore district, Manori’s life seems tougher than ever.
Her husband, Sheikh Mukander Mohammed, a 35-year-old mason whose daily wages covered the household’s expenses, died on January 14. cow protector (cow protectionists), who work openly in vigilante groups, mainly in Bharatiya Janata Party ruled states.
According to the Crime Branch of Odisha Police, an average of around 20 incidents of cow-related obstruction and violence have been recorded in a month in Odisha since mid-2025. Typically, groups working in the name of stopping alleged cattle smuggling obstruct vehicles carrying cattle. After this they call the police. Following Mukander’s death, police in Keonjhar, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, launched raids in several districts to root out organized cow smuggling.
Rizwan, a village resident and photographer for an Odia daily, says Mukander’s family now faces a dual battle: “They will have to contend with both social stigma and a deepening financial crisis.”
in the early hours
Mukander was born and brought up in Astiya village, 12 kilometers from Balasore city and about 15 kilometers from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, India’s major missile testing range. The streets of Astiya tell a different story from those of many rural settlements: Hindu and Muslim families sit side by side, often within 50 meters of each other. With no agricultural land to inherit, Mukandar turned to daily wage labour. Over time, he learned masonry skills, and started earning about ₹100 more per day than an unskilled labourer. This reform did nothing to reduce family uncertainty.
His younger brother, Sheikh Jitendra Mohammed, says, “On an average, my brother got work for barely 18 days a month at ₹500 a day. On the remaining days, he did odd jobs to survive.” His father is in bed. January 14, 2026 was Makar Sankranti, a major Hindu harvest festival. This would mean that construction work in the area would come to an almost complete halt. With no wages for the day, Mukander needed alternative work.
His mother Manwari Bibi recalls that she received a call in the early hours of the day. “He was asked to accompany a pick-up van laden with fish to its destination and was promised ₹1,000. He happily accepted,” she says. Mukander left the house between 2.30 am and 3 am Manori says the family had borrowed money from two self-help groups and the debt had increased to Rs 90,000. She says, “Work is rarely available. When you get it, you can’t say no.”
A few hours later, she says, the family received a call from villagers that Mukandar had met with an accident. By the time they reached Jaidev Kasaba, where the pickup van had skidded off the road, the police had already taken Mukander to the hospital. He died later that afternoon.
Initially the police considered the case to be a case of cattle smuggling. Balasore Additional Superintendent of Police Debjyoti Dash says, “An injured cow was found near the vehicle, so we invoked provisions of the Odisha Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960; Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and relevant sections of the Indian Code of Justice, 2023.”
As the day progressed, videos of a man, purportedly Mukandar, being brutally beaten by a group of men began circulating. While the authenticity of the footage is being verified by the police, the visuals show the man being forced to shout slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Shri Ram.”Go Mata, Mo Ma(Cow is my mother).
Mukander’s brother Jitendra lodged a complaint After which the police registered a new case Under Section 103(2) of the Indian Judicial Code, dealing with mob lynching. Balasore Superintendent of Police Pratyush Diwakar says, “We have arrested six people in connection with the incident. The investigation is ongoing and no one will be spared.” A resident living near the site of the incident, Jaidev Kasaba, about 10 km from Mukander’s house, says there were around 10 people who stopped the van in the early hours of the morning.
on the streets
Records of the Crime Branch of the Odisha Police show a recurring pattern: Vans laden with cattle are stopped and searched by vigilante groups. In November 2025 alone, at least 20 cattle transport vehicles were tracked by groups in different parts of the state. Police say that in many cases, the groups were linked to Hindu organisations.
Security forces are deployed at the entrance of Astiya village in north Odisha’s Balasore district, where a Muslim man was killed by a mob. | Photo courtesy: Vishwaranjan Raut
On November 5, 2025, acting on information provided by members of Hindu Ekta Manch, a group for Hindus Nation (Nation), Police say they seized four bulls and arrested a man from Barbil in Keonjhar district. Four days later, on 9 November, a Bajrang Dal member made a video of the alleged killing of a cow in Jagatsinghpur district, following which a case was registered at Balikuda police station.
Police say that on November 14, Bajrang Dal members stopped another cattle van in Bhadrak, in which eight animals were rescued. On 18th November, cow protector Khordha police were alerted about a truck allegedly carrying 12 buffaloes. Once again, on November 21, Bajrang Dal members stopped a cattle vehicle in Sukinda area of ​​Jajpur district, from which 12 cattle were seized.
Cattle transport vehicles were stopped on 26 occasions across Odisha in September 2025. In at least 8 of these cases, 6 involve Bajrang Dal members and 1 each involves Vishwa Hindu Parishad members. cow protectorThe group reached the spot before they could inform the police.
Police records show that 30 cases related to cattle transportation were registered in August 2025. On August 4, a BJP Zilla Parishad member had informed the authorities about the gathering of 21 cows in Sinapali area of ​​Nuapada district. According to police documents, at least 15 people associated with Sangh Parivar organizations including VHP, Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had confronted a man associated with cattle herds before police intervened and formally registered a case.
However, while police reports routinely acknowledge the role of these groups in stopping cattle drives, they rarely document whether violence occurred before their arrival on the scene. Some of those captured were Hindus.
In 2021, at least 80 incidents of Hindu-Muslim tension were recorded, of which 35 were triggered by issues related to cows, including alleged trafficking and slaughter. The number of communal incidents was 58 in 2022, and increased sharply to 85 in 2023, with cow-related issues emerging as the major point in 30 and 60 cases respectively. By July 2024, up to 65 Hindu-Muslim incidents had been reported, of which 49 centered on cow-related disputes.
Mukander’s death sparked outrage. cow protector Denied any role in the violence that led to his murder. “We have evolved as an organized group of volunteers who only inform the police about cow transportation and slaughter. We have never been involved in violence,” says Jitendra Swain, secretary of the Maa Bharati Go Seva Kendra in Balasore, which claims to shelter around 3,000 stray cattle.
According to Sven, about 30 cow protector and in large numbers cow servant (Servants) are active in the district. He says, “We not only hand over people involved in cow trading to the police, but we also take the cases to their logical conclusion. We ensure that the police do not dilute the cases at any stage of investigation, and we also fight cases in court so that the criminals do not go scot-free.” Swain claims public support is growing. “The winds of change have started blowing. More and more people are coming forward to make efforts to save cows in Odisha,” he says.
Jitendra Swain, secretary of Maa Bharati Go Seva Kendra in Balasore, which shelters around 3,000 stray cattle. | Photo courtesy: Vishwaranjan Raut
act extraconstitutionally
Human rights activists express serious concern over the violence that precedes police action in alleged animal trade cases. “We have an over 60-year-old law in the form of the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960. Where is the role of cow vigilantes mentioned in it? Who has given them the power to attack people even if they are on the wrong side of the law?” Human rights lawyer Vishwapriya Kanungo says.
Kanungo says cow protector Using “private army-like” powers. “If they are so nationalistic, how many trucks full of ganja have they stopped? What have they done to stop theft of minerals from the state?” He says. asking for help from cow protector By curbing cattle transportation and turning a blind eye to their arbitrariness, the police appear to have effectively let these forces loose on the roads of Odisha, Kanungo says.
Balasore District Police does not remember cow protector They have always been educated about their role as informants rather than street-level enforcers. Balasore SP Diwakar says, “During Ama police meetings, we discuss the duties and responsibilities of citizens. People are told about the consequences of taking the law into their own hands.”
bowing to the cow
The killing on the streets of Balasore failed to generate any political reaction. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das addressed a press conference to condemn Mukander’s murder, while the Biju Janata Dal sent a state-level delegation to Astiya village five days later to meet the bereaved family. A team from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) also met the family. However, apart from these gestures, there was little evidence of sustained political agitation or serious efforts to hold the administration accountable.
Public attention came to this in the third week of January. Keonjhar police launched one of the biggest crackdown against alleged cattle smugglers in recent memory, conducting raids in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts. Police seized ₹1.4 crore in cash, 1 kg of gold and 3 kg of silver. They arrested 9 people involved in animal trade. The scale of the operation dominated the headlines, while Mukandar’s death was sidelined.
Taking forward the police action, Animal Husbandry Minister Gokula Nand Malik told PTI that the government is taking strict action against animal smuggling. “Property worth more than Rs 50 crore of cattle traders has been seized. The Chief Minister has directed officials to keep a close watch on cattle smuggling,” he said.
on the alleged involvement of cow protector On violence, Mallik said cow protection is linked to “religious sentiments” identity(Gaurav), adding that while social workers often assist the police, “they should not take the law into their own hands”. Addressing the Fisheries and Livestock Conclave, Chief Minister Majhi warned animal smugglers that strict action would be taken against them. Revenue and Disaster Minister Suresh Pujari announced that cow shelters would be constructed across the state. The government will provide land for this.
Edited by Sunalini Mathew
