Protests against overloading of cattle in trucks
Court in Chengalpet later ordered the release of cattle but asked the transporters to take only six cattle in one truck
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-09-24 07:13 GMT
Chennai: A Hindu outfit's design to intercept two trucks carrying 41 cattle meant for Bakrid sacrifice ended in three hours of morning rush hour traffic jam on GST Road after Muslim groups engaged in road block protesting the detention of the animals.
A court in Chengalpet later ordered the release of cattle but asked the transporters to take only six cattle in one truck. The drama started at around 3 am Wednesday on Chengalpet bypass with the Hindu outfit stopping two truckloads of cattle citing 'cruelty to animal'.
The group then handed over the case to Chengalpet taluk police station insisting that a case should be booked. Nearly 500 members of Muslim community thronged the station demanding immediate release of the seized cattle arguing that private parties have no power to seize animals.
As police failed to give a clear answer the protesting group became bigger and they started squatting on busy GST Road, which has a heavy flow of vehicles towards Chennai in the morning. The road roko triggered traffic snarl affecting office goers and school students, many of them who were rushing for quarterly examinations.
Later Chengalpet revenue divisional officer reached the scene to pacify the agitating crowd and suggested that the seized vehicles and animals should be taken to the Chengalpet magistrate court for further action.