'Despite knowing they are considered sacred...': Gujarat court sentences 3 to life imprisonment in cow slaughter case

Ahmedabad: A sessions court in Amreli district on Tuesday sentenced three persons to life imprisonment for cow slaughtering. The court while holding them guilty of cow slaughter observed that the convicts did it despite knowing that cows are considered sacred in Hinduism.

A day after the judgement on Wednesday, the Bhupendra Patel-led Gujarat government hailed the verdict as "historic" and said that the government was committed to protect the cow which is the "center of Indian culture and faith and the state government will have no mercy" for such crimes.

Government spokesperson and minister Jitu Vaghani said in a statement mentioned how under the then chief minister Narendra Modi, the state government made the cow slaughter law strict back in 2011. Later in 2017, the law was further amended and raised the jail term from maximum seven years to life imprisonment. The statement read that the judgement was a "clear message" for anyone offending the law.

Meanwhile, the judgement pronounced on Tuesday by principal district and sessions judge , Rizvana Bukhari held Kasim Haji Solanki, 20, Sattar Ismail Solanki, 52, and Akram Haji Solanki, 30, guilty under various sections of Gujarat Preservation (Amendement) Act, 2017, that prohibits cow slaughters and sections of IPC including 429 and 114.

The court held that the trio committed the act despite being aware that cows are considered sacred in Hinduism. Additionally, the court imposed a heavy fine of Rs. 6 lakh on each of the accused.

In 2023, the trio were arrested following a tip off stating that cow offspring had been slaughtered with "intention of financial gains" in Amreli city.