LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) – More than half the arrests this 12 months beneath a troublesome nationwide safety legislation in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh have concerned suspects in instances of cow slaughter, knowledge confirmed.

The northern state has used the National Security Act (NSA), which permits for these deemed a menace to nationwide safety to be detained with out cost for as much as a 12 months, nearly 140 occasions within the first eight months of the 12 months.

“The NSA has been invoked in 139 cases across Uttar Pradesh, of which 76 have been against the slaughter of cows,” Awanish Awasthi, a high state official, mentioned in an announcement.

The determine, for the 12 months to August 18, was first reported by the Indian Express newspaper on Friday.

The cow is taken into account sacred by India’s Hindu-majority inhabitants, and most states, together with Uttar Pradesh, have legal guidelines towards slaughter of the animals.

Vigilante assaults on these accused of killing the animal for meat, usually individuals belonging to the tiny Muslim minority, are widespread.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has repeatedly urged use of the NSA to fight legislation and order points within the state of greater than 200 million individuals.

The Hindu monk is a high-profile determine in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

The NSA, which Indian rights activists have described as draconian, can be ceaselessly used within the contested area of Kashmir to detain individuals suspected of separatist exercise.

“In many cases the charges of NSA are dropped because the authorities fail to prove it in court,” mentioned Irfan Ghazi, a lawyer primarily based within the state’s metropolis of Aligarh, who has defended shoppers held beneath the act.