Homes demolished, NSA invoked over cow slaughter allegations in Madhya Pradesh

Later in the night, a police team reached the Bengali colony in Noorabad village in the district and claimed to have seized beef and cow skin from a house. In total the police claimed to have seized two sacks of bones and beef, besides the cow skin, from the house.

The police have registered a case against nine people under the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Cow Slaughtering Act, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Indian Penal Code provisions for rioting, assaulting and intimidation. Later, the stringent National Security Act (NSA) was also invoked against the accused after the recovery of cow meat. So far, six people have been arrested in the case and three are absconding.

According to the police, “Three people involved in the case are absconding, and a search operation is underway in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to nab them…the accused involved in the case are not natives of Morena district and had settled here in search of work.”

After the incident, the local administration had surveyed the village of the accused, following which a team razed the houses of the two accused and foundations of a third house.

“According to the revenue officials, the houses of the accused are illegal and were built without permission. Notices were also issued for the same but no one responded to it, as a result of which the houses were demolished and a police force was dispatched to coordinate with the local administration,” said a police officer familiar with the matter.

According to officials, the local gram panchayat had also issued them a notice in the past. “After that, the accused were again given a notice on June 22, but they neither responded nor removed the encroachment, after which, on the orders of the Gram Panchayat, their houses were demolished with the help of the police and the district administration,” said the official.