Chennai: Cow vigilantism in Rajasthan has targeted a Tamil Nadu government official team that went to that state to purchase a special breed of cows for breeding purposes. After purchasing the cows, armed with all the proper sale documents, they were loaded onto trucks for transporting to Tamil Nadu.

In Barmer, some 50 to 60 cow vigilantes surrounded the trucks, thrashed the officials and forcibly freed the animals.

Civil society members of Tamil Nadu are aghast over the development, when the gangs of people take law into their hands. Said MG Devasahayam, a former bureaucrat and civil society member, “now this is becoming too much. Tamil Nadu government officials are also not safe and can be attacked by cow vigilantes whenever they like.”

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss too condemned the attack on government officials in Barmer. In a statement here, the PMK leader said TN government officials had gone to Rajasthan to procure cows to increase the milk production in the state. “The attack is highly condemnable,” he said.

Ramadoss also charged the Rajasthan police with tacitly supporting the illegal action of the cow vigilantes by not taking action or coming to the aid of government servants.

“Such unlawful acts should not be allowed to go free and the attackers should be punished,” Ramadoss said.

Officials of Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department were attacked by cow vigilantes on the suspicion that they were smuggling cows on Sunday night at Barmer district.