Don't release rescued cattle from gaushala, HC orders top cop

The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday issued notices to the Bengaluru police commissioner, the deputy commissioner of police (east) and the Ramamurthy Nagar police over the alleged illegal slaughter of cattle. It also passed an interim order by directing the police not to release 16 rescued cattle from a gaushala (shelter for cows).

Justice A S Bopanna was hearing a petition filed by Joshine Antony, an animal welfare officer appointed by the Central government, seeking a ban on the release of cattle from Sri Krishna Gaushala where rescued cows have been kept.

The petitioner said he called the police when he saw 16 cows being illegally transported to the BBMP slaughterhouse on Tannery Road. Although the police rushed to the spot and rescued the cows, they did not register a First Information Report (FIR) in the case. They registered only a Non-Cognisable Report (NCR).

The rescued cattle were then sent to Sri Krishna Gaushala in Hennur in Ramamurthy Nagar police station limits. Aggrieved by the "arbitrariness" of the jurisdictional police, Antony said he approached the deputy commissioner of police (east), but he, too, turned a deaf ear to his complaint.

The petitioner then approached the police commissioner, seeking his immediate intervention in the matter. But the police chief, too, did not take any legal action.

Antony accused the  Ramamurthy Nagar police of being "hand in glove"  with people who are into the illegal slaughter business and suggested  they were  trying to "protect" the interests of the suspects by not registering an FIR. He further claimed that since an  FIR was not registered, the 16 cattle head faced a threat  of being released from the gaushala.  

DH News Service