A black SUV without a number plate cruises along the Modhera Temple overbridge in Gujarat in the dead of night, as if on the hunt. It spots a pickup van carrying buffalo calves and accelerates. The van’s occupants notice they are being tailed. They first stop, but then try to speed away. Moments later, another car appears from the opposite direction. Within seconds, the van is boxed in, rammed from both sides, and overturned on the edge of the overbridge.
Men armed with lathis descend on the scene. A 29-second video that later goes viral shows two men being beaten up, while several calves lie motionless on the road.
This is not a scene from a movie. This is what transpired on the intervening night of February 22 and 23 in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district, under the jurisdiction of the Adalaj police station, in yet another instance of cow vigilantism where self-styled ‘gau rakshaks’ took law into their own hands and claimed the authority to punish those they suspected of cattle smuggling.
Violent cow vigilantism has become increasingly rampant across several north Indian states, with self-styled ‘gau rakshaks’ operating with a growing sense of impunity. Often linked to Right-wing outfits and, in many cases, perceived to enjoy tacit administrative backing, these groups routinely assume the role of extra-judicial authorities. Their actions frequently involve high-speed chases, forced interceptions of vehicles, physical assaults, and the open brandishing of weapons. Disturbingly, such acts are often filmed and circulated on social media, not as evidence of wrongdoing but as a display of power and dominance. In several instances, questions have also been raised about the response of law enforcement, with allegations that vigilante groups receive support or leniency from the police which further embolden their actions.
Another video surfaced on February 25, featuring one of the victims recounting the sequence of events. In the later part of the footage, his injuries are clearly visible — bruises across his back, legs, and mouth. In the video, the victim states:
“I had left with the van around 1 am. A black Scorpio without a number plate and a smaller white car were following me. At first, I thought it was police. They asked me to stop the vehicle on the side, so I did, but then I noticed they were carrying weapons — thick wooden sticks. I then started the van again and began moving forward. That is when the Scorpio rammed my vehicle from behind, and the smaller car hit it from the front, overturning the van. After the vehicle toppled, they broke the window glass, dragged us out, and beat us with the sticks. They assaulted us brutally, hitting us all over.”
No Arrests So Far
A report by Gujarati news outlet Sandesh, headlined, “Gandhinagar: Cattle smuggling in Adalaj, Gau Sevaks save more than 10 cattle, questions raised against police patrolling”, made no mention of the assault seen in the viral video.
Another report by The Siasat Daily stated that the ramming of the two cars, which led to the pick-up van overturning, resulted in the death of some of the cattle. It also noted that despite the assault video going viral, police did not file a suo motu complaint. The report quoted an officer from Adalaj police station as saying that they were waiting for the victims to file a complaint.
Alt News accessed a copy of the FIR, which showed that the accused had been booked under Sections 115(2), 117(2), 189(2), 191(2), 191(3), and 190 of the BNS, along with Section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act.
According to the FIR, the complainant, Kalim Ahmed Salimmai Shaikh — one of the victims of the assault — and his companion, Arshadbhai Anwar Khan, were transporting buffalo calves from villages in Banaskantha district to Ahmedabad. Around midnight, near the Modhera Temple overbridge, a Scorpio approached from behind and attempted to stop their vehicle.
When they slowed down, five to six unidentified men got out of the Scorpio, abused them, forcibly halted the vehicle, and began thrashing them with wooden sticks and iron rods. The complaint states that the attackers damaged the vehicle, snatched the keys, and continued to beat up both men, leaving them seriously injured. The assailants also threatened them with dire consequences and accused them of transporting cattle illegally. The complainant alleged that the attackers appeared to be cow vigilantes.
Following the incident, police arrived at the scene and shifted the injured men to a hospital. In his complaint, Kalim Ahmed stated that he suffered physical injuries, mental trauma, and financial losses. His vehicle was damaged, and his medical expenses amounted to approximately ₹3 lakh. He added that he could not file the complaint immediately as he was undergoing treatment.
He further alleged that the assault was unprovoked and sought strict legal action against those responsible.
Alt News reached out to inspector L D Odedara of the Adalaj police station to ascertain the sequence of events and the action taken.
Odedara said, “On the intervening night of February 22 and 23, the pickup van was travelling on the overbridge when some people noticed that the small vehicle was carrying 27 buffalo calves. They asked the van to stop. The driver, however, sped away. In the course of this, the van overturned, after which a brawl broke out between the two parties. A complaint has been filed against the other party involved in the brawl, as well as against the driver for animal cruelty, as he was transporting far more calves than the permitted limit of three.”
When asked whether the assailants seen in the video were part of any group or organisation, as some reports described them as ‘gau rakshaks’, Odedara said the matter was under investigation. He added that an FIR had been registered against the assailants under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, but no arrests have been made yet.
Involvement of Bajrang Dal
We ran a keyword search in Gujarati to find more about the incident. This led us to an Instagram post by the user Anup Singh Rajput (@bhagvasena_anupsingh_rajput).
The user posted a reel showing visuals from the same location where the assault was recorded. In the clip, several men can be seen lifting buffalo calves lying on the ground and carrying them away. In the latter part of the video, a man is seen speaking to Gujarati news channel Sandesh. On-screen tickers read: “Gau rakshaks saved more than 10 calves”, “Animal smuggling network busted”, and “When ‘gau rakshaks’ receive such information, why don’t the police: Gau rakshak”.
View this post on Instagram
A review of the user’s profile revealed additional posts related to the incident, including one uploaded on February 23. The video shows visuals from the same location, with the overturned pick-up van and buffalo calves visible in the frame. Text embedded in the video reads, “Naroda jilla VHP Bajrang Dal Gau Rakshak.” The caption of the post, written in Gujarati, translates to:
“🚩🙏 Hail Lord Ram 🙏🚩 🚩🙏 Hail Mother Cow 🙏🚩
The active role of the Bajrang Dal, Naroda district, in cow protection is commendable. The way a system has been put in place and vigilant monitoring is being carried out to stop cow smuggling is truly a matter of pride for devotees of the cow.
🚩 Strength of the nation — Bajrang Dal! 🔱💪”
This indicates that the cow vigilantes who carried out the ‘operation’ and beat up the two Muslim men were from the Bajrang Dal.
View this post on Instagram
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We looked into the tagged accounts in the above post and found a profile, @hindu_dhruv_chiloda, whose bio states he is the joint secretary of Vishva Hindu Parishad/Bajrang Dal, Sardarnagar Division.
Further, going through the timeline of the user, @bhagvasena_anupsingh_rajput, we found photos of him posing with prominent Hindutva activists such as Abhishek Thakur and Prakash Singh. Thakur and Singh had recently appeared in an anti-Muslim music video titled ‘Hindu’, which was later taken down by YouTube after Alt News flagged it for violating the platform’s content policies.
This is the fifth incident of cow vigilantes targeting Muslims and assaulting them in the name of cow protection that Alt News has reported in the first two months of 2026. Out of these five cases, in two the victims succumbed to their injuries.
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