Mathura: Protesters disrupted traffic on the Mathura-Vrindavan road Friday after around 40 cow carcasses were spotted in a forest near PMV Polytechnic College in the area.
Senior Sub-Inspector Amit Rai of Jaint police station area told ThePrint that on Friday morning, some people saw the remains of cows in the forest, after which local residents, gau rakshaks and members of right-wing organisations reached the spot.
“The angry protesters blocked the Mathura-Vrindavan road by jamming it. This brought traffic to a standstill, causing trouble to hundreds of vehicles and pedestrians,” he said.
The situation was brought under control and the traffic jam was cleared after three hours, as police resorted to lathi-charge.
According to Rai, police personnel reached the spot and tried to placate the protesters, but had to resort to lathi-charge to remove the blockade.
Mathura Gau Raksha Samiti president Bharat Gautam told ThePrint that it was due to the failure of the administration that the illegal business of cow slaughter was on the rise in the area.
The gau rakshaks and right-wing outfit members have demanded that a case be registered against the “cow murderers” and that they be arrested. They have also accused the Uttar Pradesh government of failing to protect cows.
Rai said information about the incident had been conveyed to higher officials, and the case was being investigated.
Local residents ThePrint spoke to claim that the carcasses were probably of cows from some gaushala, and that the animals had died of cold. To avoid controversy, the bodies were thrown in the forest, they added.
But the cow protection activists allege that the cow slaughterers had cut off the ears of the animals to hide their identity, which could have been ascertained by the tag on the ear.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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