Police have arrested 24 persons in connection with the killing of more than 60 bovine animals, including cows, in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh last week, officials said on Friday. Eight of the arrested accused are from Nagpur, where the conspiracy to kill these animals was hatched to whip up communal frenzy, the police said. Carcasses of 18 cows with their necks slit were found in Vainganga river near Pindrai village in Seoni, while those of 28 cows and oxen were found in Kakartala forest area under Dhuma police station limits in the district on June 19 and 20. More such carcasses were found in the district later. “The accused persons were assigned the job of killing the bovine animals in return for money and local residents (of Seoni) were also found to be involved in the crime," a police official said. Seoni collector Kshitij Singhal and SP Rakesh Kumar Singh were shunted out following the recovery of animal carcasses.
