Were activists involved in Bangalore murder?

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  November/December 2011:

BANGALORE–A purported lynching by animal rights activists in
Bangalore,  India,  on November 1,  2011,  headlined by media
worldwide,   might actually have been attempted cattle rustling or
extortion of bribes by imposters.
In the next four weeks  after the killing,  however,  neither
police nor the allegedly involved animal rights group,  Akhila
Karnataka Prani Daya Sangha,  responded to questions about the
ongoing investigation.

The name Akhila Karnataka Prani Daya Sangha translates “Cow
Defense Force.”  The organization also campaigns against animal
sacrifice.

Eight Bangalore men identified only by their first names were
charged with murder and armed robbery after the November 1 incident.
Mustering at about 2:00 a.m. at Kunigal Cross,  they reportedly
stopped a truck that they suspected of illegally hauling cows to
slaughter and turned it over to the Nelamangala police.

The men then tried to stop a second truckload of cows,  but
the truck sped on.  Chasing the truck in a sport utility vehicle,
they caught up and blocked it on the Tumkur Road elevated expressway
near Peenya.  They allegedly clubbed the 40-year-old driver,
Krishnappa,  and his cattle handler,  Babujan.

When Krishnappa tried to run,  Babujan told police,  the
assailants pushed Krishnappa off the overpass.  Still alive when
found at about 3:30 a.m.,  Krishnappa died  two hours later.
Akhila Karnataka Prani Daya Sangha coordinator Dayananda
Swamji said that the accused were not members.  “In 25 years of
service,”  he told the Times of India,   “we have never taken the law
into our hands.  When we receive information about cows and buffaloes
being transported,  we inform police first and rescue the animals
later.  Often,  we’re attacked by miscreants while trying to rescue
animals from slaughterhouses.  We sympathise with Krishnappa’s
family,”  he said.

“I have known Akhila Karnataka Prani Daya Sangha well for 15
years,”  Animal Rights Fund founder Dilip Bafna told ANIMAL PEOPLE.
“They belong to the Jain community.  They do not know anything about
this incident.  They were not involved.”

“Akhila Karnataka Prani Daya Sangha have won some good
court judgments on the welfare of large animals,”   Compassion
Unlimited Plus Action cofounder Suparna Ganguly told ANIMAL PEOPLE.
“The animals impounded from the trucks were in a really bad way,”
Ganguly added  “Five reached our shelter,  only to die seven or eight
days later.  Their legs were so tightly tied that they could never
get up.”

The minority rights advocacy organization Karnataka Komu
Sauharda Vedike told media that similar incidents had been reported
in Chikmagalur, Udupi and Mangalore in the days preceding Ramadan,
the Muslim Feast of Atonement,  which culminates in public hallal
slaughters.

No mention was made of the alleged murder case when just 48
hours later police and wildlife officials turned over to Akhila
Karnataka Prani Daya Sangha three camels seized from people who
brought them to Bangalore in violation of a high court order.

Across India to the northeast,  meanwhile,  “In the early
hours of November 17,  2011,”  Action for Protection of Wild Animals
director Bijaya Kumar Kabi e-mailed to ANIMAL PEOPLE,  “as many as 86
cattle were freed from a truck by the organization Biswa Go Surakshya
Bahini,  headed by Suresh Panda near Seragarh in Odisha state.

Following this, more than 50 cow traders intercepted Panda and one of
his team. Both Panda and his teammate sustained injuries on their
heads,  chests and faces,”  were hospitalized in Cuttack,  “and are
now battling for their lives,”  Kabi said.