BHOPAL: Carcasses of 17 cows were found buried in a school in state animal husbandry minister Lakhan Singh Yadav’s home district in Dabra. Police said that it seems that cows were first locked and then starved-suffocated to death in school room.
The carcasses were recovered from the premises of government school in Dabra of Gwalior district on Wednesday.
Dabra police station in-charge Yashwant Goyal said that primary investigation suggested that cows were locked in a room of the school for three to four days. As a result, owing to being over-crowded they died of starvation, thirst and suffocation. He did not rule out possibility of cows being killed intentionally.
Goyal further said that postmortem report stated that cows died of suffocation. The incident occurred in a government middle school in Samudan village on Dabra-Gwalior Road, around 40km from Gwalior district headquarters.
“A few gau-sevaks (cow protectors) spotted cow carcasses being buried in school premises and informed the police around 8 pm. By the time police rushed to the spot, the accused had fled leaving the JCB machine behind,” Goyal added.
The cops subsequently exhumed the carcasses, which numbered around 12-17, he said.
Subsequent police investigation led cops to a small room in middle of the school building where blood stains suggested that cows could have been locked there for 3-4 days thus resulting in starvation and suffocation.
The carcasses were buried in a small field inside school premises, clearly suggesting that locking and killing of the cows and their subsequent burial wasn’t possible without the collusion of government school staff.
Goyal said that a case was lodged in the matter under provisions of state’s anti-cow slaughter law –MP Gauvansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam 2004-- and the JCB engaged in digging the school ground for burial has been seized by police.
The case has been registered against 10-12 people of the village, including school teachers.
CM Tweets: Chief Minister Kamal Nath has tweeted, “Whoever is involved in the case should be punished and the police should take strict against them. We have promised that we are trying to protect and conserve cows and this type of incidents is not tolerable.”
Importantly, after assuming power in Madhya Pradesh, the Kamal Nath government has embarked on a mission to render home to estimated 10 lakh stray cows in the state.
