Bhubaneswar, July 9: Cattle traders and local residents today beat up four cow vigilantes at a cattle market in Begunia police station limits in Khurda district.

Khurda police superintendent Dipti Ranjan Ray said six persons were detained for allegedly beating up four persons of the Go Suraksha Samiti.

Police sources said that tension erupted in the cattle market as members of the Go Suraksha Samiti opposed the sale of cattle. The cattle traders and local people at the weekly market then retaliated.

Two members of the Go Suraksha Samiti later lodged a complaint with local police, following which the police swung into action and detained six persons.

However, no one has been detained for cattle trading as it is not illegal. There are many places in the state that have weekly markets for the sale of cattle. The police said: "We can take action only if the cattle are transported illegally violating norms."

Cow vigilantes are making desperate attempts to become active in various parts of state opposing cattle trading and transport. They allege that the cattle are being traded for the purpose of slaughter.

On June 3, the Government Railway Police (GRP) had arrested the main accused in the case of an attack on cow transporters at the Bhubaneswar railway station that took place on May 24. The accused, Ganesh Prasad Sahoo, is a resident of Cuttack Road.

On May 24, the group of self-proclaimed "gau rakshaks", led by Sahoo, had raided the parcel van of Kochuveli-Guwahati Superfast Express and forcefully unloaded more than 20 milch cows.

The cow vigilantes, who belonged to the Bajrang Dal, then thrashed two persons, who were legally transporting the cattle from Salem in Tamil Nadu to Ampati in Meghalaya. They also beat up the loco pilot and the station manager.

The dairy employees had been held hostage at the station for several hours, while the railway personnel were beaten up when they attempted to resolve the issue.

The police said that Sahoo was the president of the Old Station Bazaar Durga Puja Committee and also owner of a lodge and a kalyan mandap (wedding venue) along Cuttack Road in the city.

Earlier, employees of Vertex Agritech Private Limited, a dairy firm, and two railway personnel had been assaulted. On May 26, the GRP arrested Sudarshan Biswal of Puri and Sibananda Panda of Nayagarh district.

On April 12, Mancheswar police seized a truck illegally carrying about 100 cattle at Rasulgarh in the city.

Undertrial death

An undertrial died in police custody at Dharmasala in Jajpur district last night. The deceased, Gayadhar Tarai, 40, was arrested in connection with a bomb attack. The family members of the deceased alleged that Gayadhar had been tortured in police custody and held the police responsible for his death.