Bhopal: Tragic death of 17 cows, allegedly due to starvation in a Madhya Pradesh village has triggered an outrage leading Chief Minister Kamal Nath to order a probe into it.
The incident took place in the village of Samudan under Dabra panchayat in Gwalior district, police said on Thursday.
According to the police, more than a dozen cows were confined in a class room of a government school in the village for days together, leading to their deaths due to starvation and suffocation.
According to state animal husbandry minister Lakhan Singh, 17 cows were bundled into the room which was then locked from outside, leading to their death. “It might be handiwork of a mentally deranged person,” he said.
Kamal Nath took a serious note of the incident and ordered a probe into it. “We are trying to protect cows in the state. Such incidents cannot be tolerated. I have ordered an impartial enquiry into it,” he said.
Police suspected that some local villagers might have confined the cows in the room to ensure that they did not damage their standing crops.
The room was opened by the school authorities when the students complained of foul smell.
Police said some people tried to bury the dead cattle inside the premises of the school fearing police action.
“We have registered a case in connection with the incident,” the investigating officer said.
The incident has caused huge embarrassment to the Kamal Nath government since it has claimed to have set its priority for the protection and preservation of cows in the state.
In fact, protection of cows was a key promise made by Congress in the 2018 Assembly elections, leading the party to return to power in MP after a gap of 15 years.
The Kamal Nath government has announced to establish 1,000 modern cow shelters in the state for rehabilitation of stray cattle in the state.
Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed shock over the incident and said the 17 cows would not have met tragic death had they been given proper shelter.
