Beef vendors in Goa held a strike on Monday to protest an attack by a cow vigilante group in Margao last week, The Times of India reported.

The vendors on Monday sought a meeting with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to demand security while transporting beef, and safety measures to prevent harassment by cow vigilante groups.

The strike affected the sale of beef two days ahead of Christmas, when the demand for the meat rises, Goa Herald reported.

On December 18, members of a cow vigilante group disrupted businesses at the South Goa Planning and Development Authority market in the city of Margao and intercepted a vehicle unloading beef, The Times of India reported.

The vigilantes accused the vendors of illegalities in the supply chain. Three vendors were injured after the confrontation turned violent.

Bhagwan Redkar, a member of the cow vigilante group, defended the actions, alleging they had information about illegal beef supply.

“We did not attack any vendors,” Redkar told Goa Herald. “We only came to investigate potential wrongdoings.”

Shabbir Shaikh, the vice president of the Association of All Goa Muslim Jamaats, accused the vigilantes of trying to extort money from the vendors.

“They have been demanding a hafta [protection money] from us to continue our trade,” The Times of India quoted Shaikh as alleging. “They would earlier come to the state borders and harass us. Now, they are coming to our shops. We are running legal operations and have refused to give into their demands.”

Chief Minister Sawant on Monday said that action will be taken against those who “take law into their own hands”, adding that the state government’s priority was the availability of hygienic beef.

“We have stressed to meat traders that the beef sold in Goa should meet the highest standards of hygiene,” The Times of India quoted Sawant as saying. “However, if anyone tries to interfere with them and take the law into their own hands, the government will take strict action.”

Also read: Goa’s cow politics: How gau rakshaks and NGOs have worked to starve the state of beef