Meatless Monday: Animal activist allegedly assaulted after confronting snake-charmer

An animal rights activist was attacked outside the court after she stopped to question a snake-charmer mistreating a snake.

The activist had stepped out of the Patna High Court for photocopies in connection with the legal battles she is fighting against animals smuggling carried out by the meat mafia at the India – Bangladesh border.

Outside the court, the woman activist chanced upon a snake-charmer who was mistreating a snake and began questioning him.

Seeing her engrossed in conversation, a mob of goons, who had been following her movements and waiting for her outside the court, caught her unaware and attacked her.

They were waiting for me outside the court and attacked me from behind when they found me distracted. After being slapped and shoved several times, attempts were made to tear my clothes. On resisting their attempts to strip me, I was pushed to the ground and kicked repeatedly. The ordeal continued for 25 minutes,” said Nitasha Jaini, a 60-year-old Delhi-based famous painter by profession and Dhyan Foundation volunteer.

We are fighting in court for custody of illegally trafficked camels which are smuggled from India across borders into Bangladesh for their meat. I recognized couple of assailants who are avid workers of the meat mafia against whom we are fighting the legal battles,” she further elaborated.

The cops were informed and a case has been registered in Kotwali Police Station.

The case has been filed and we are trying to identify the attackers through CCTV footage,” said DSP Shibli Nomani.

Jaini is fighting an ongoing legal battle to rehabilitate 61 camels which were rescued few kilometers short of the Bangladesh border in Kishanganj, Bihar in December 2016.

The camels were released from the clutches of smuggling mafia by a joint operation conducted by Border Security Force (BSF) and Dhyan Foundation. They have been rescued and looked after and are now case property, but what are 61 camels, which are supposed to be protected species of Rajasthan, doing in Kishanganj (Bihar)?
As per the Rajasthan Camel Act, camels are not allowed outside Rajasthan yet they have not been allowed to return to their natural habitat due to the nexus between the meat-mafia and law-enforcers. 14 out of 61 camels have already died in this delay.

The attack outside the Patna High Court has been preceded by several death threats I have received from the meat-mafia in the past. The continuous threats finally culminated in the attack outside the court by hired goons of the mafia. They have vented out their frustration as now the case has gone to the High court, away from their corrupt nexus. They are armed anti-national elements and the safety and respect for a nation, its animals or its women, is none of their concern,” said Jaini.

India Today reported the case of camel smugglings at the Bangladesh border earlier this year and brought to light the meat-mafia and law enforcer nexus which prevails in Kishanganj.

h/t: India Today 

Photo credit: Hindustan Times 

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Peg Fong is also in recovery from newspapers

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