New Delhi, March 2 Forty-three cows were rescued from a racket allegedly milking bovines beneath a drain in Chirag Delhi, following which the volunteers involved in the rescue operation were honored by AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday.
"In Delhi, the beloved 'Gau Mata' (cow mother) of Bhagwan Shri Krishna is in a dire state. In areas like Chirag Delhi, Greater Kailash, Kotla Mubarakpur, and Malviya Nagar, cows can be seen eating garbage at every intersection and dump yard," Bharadwaj said.
He alleged that cows are dying after eating plastic waste, and people are falling ill after consuming contaminated milk.
"These cows are not eating garbage due to fate, but because an entire mafia is operating behind this," he added.
"At 8:30 in the morning, a man arrives on a motorcycle and herds these cows towards the drain. The cows are milked there, and by 9:30 to 10 am, they are released back onto the streets," Bharadwaj claimed.
After that, these cows continue to eat garbage throughout the day in Sheikh Sarai, Chirag Delhi, and Savitri Nagar, and in the evening, the same man again takes them to the drain to milk them, he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief said that some cows are falsely shown as dead in records and later released onto the streets.
"Cows are shown as dying on paper because they are bought from gaushalas (cow shelters) and then released to eat garbage," he alleged.
Last week, the AAP claimed it "conducted a raid" exposing "cattle mafia" operations beneath the Panchsheel drain in south Delhi, and rescued 43 cows being exploited in the illegal trade.
The action, led by Bharadwaj, prompted MCD and police intervention, after which the animals were sent to a gaushala (cowshed), the party had said in an official statement.
Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh, however, had denied the allegations and said the alleged illegal dairy case in the Chirag Delhi area is misleading, factually incorrect, and politically motivated.