Representative image of a cow.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: Tension gripped Chamarajpet in central Bengaluru after unidentified miscreants chopped the udders of three cows on Sunday morning.
A passerby found the cows bleeding in Old Pension Mohalla, Vinayakanagar, around 4:30 am and informed their caretaker and dairy farmer, Karna.
While a teat of one of the cows had been severed, the teats of other cows were chopped and left hanging, according to Karna. A teat is the nipple of a cow from where milk is discharged.
The cows were subsequently taken to a veterinary hospital, and Karna filed a police complaint.
Cottonpet police have opened a case under BNS Section 325 (mischief by killing or maiming an animal). The offence attracts five years' imprisonment and a fine, according to S Girish, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West).
Police are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the culprits. However, some residents said the place where the incident occurred didn't have any CCTV coverage.
Some residents also claimed that dogs had taken the chopped-off teat but the police did not confirm this.
Shortly after the incident, hundreds of people, including members of pro-Hindu outfits, gathered at the scene and staged a flash protest.
They demanded that the culprits be tracked down immediately and given stringent action.
Authorities have deployed a platoon of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) in the area to prevent untoward incidents.
Old Pension Mohalla is home to people from different religions, according to police.
"We will monitor the situation in the area for a few days as the issue is sensitive," an officer overseeing the investigations said.
R Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and P C Mohan, Bangalore Central MP, visited the spot and condemned the incident.
Karna suspected that the incident was related to a protest that he and others had carried out for stopping the closure of a government veterinary hospital in the area.
While Ashoka said Karna was an RSS worker, police neither confirmed nor denied it.
Some residents suggested that alcoholics were behind the incident.
B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, the Chamarajpet MLA, has promised to buy three cows for the family.
Latching on to the ‘cattle udder-cutting incident’ here, leader of the Opposition R Ashoka declared on Sunday that the party planned to give a call to all Hindus to observe ‘Black Sankranti’ throughout the state, if the government failed to arrest the suspects.
After visiting Karna’s cow shelter at Vinayakanagar of Chamarajpet here, Ashoka said, “This incident clearly depicts the ‘jihadist mindset’ very well and seems to be aimed at instilling fear among Hindus ahead of Sankranti. This being harvest festival, the farmers’ community celebrates it by offering puja to cows, bulls and oxen as these animals help a farmer throughout the year to not only plough the land, but also feed him with milk and help carry the harvested crop to the market on carts. If the government fails to act immediately, BJP will be forced to give a call to Hindus to observe ‘Black Sankranti’ as a mark of protest.”
He said Karna had been a staunch RSS worker and had been long associated with pro-Hindu issues in the area. He has been a lead member of Hindu groups to save the veterinary hospital that was built by the British. “This appears to be a vengeful incident and sends out a loud and clear message to Karna in particular and Hindus in general that they too would meet a similar fate,” he told reporters.
P C Mohan, the Bangalore Central BJP MP who accompanied, told reporters that the incident had taken place soon after the police completed their beat here.
CCTV cameras
“I will take steps to get CCTV cameras installed in the area using MPLAD funds,” he said.
BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said that ever since the Congress government came to power, there was gross negligence of ‘cow protection’ and had reached a new peak with this incident.
‘Goshalas shut down’
“Last week, the Congress government decided to shut down ‘goshalas’ in the state. Soon after this decision, the udder-cutting incident has taken place. This shows that the Congress government’s commitment is more towards appeasing the cow-eating (gobhakshaka) community,” he said.
Haveri MP Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP said, “For us, who revere the cow as mother, this act has caused immense anguish. Such an inhuman act committed in the state’s capital during the harvest festival of Makara Sankranti clearly shows there is no fear of the government among these miscreants.”