Telangana teacher suspended for bringing ‘cow brain’ to class to teach students about anatomy

Vikarabad district official says case has been registered and sample sent for forensic testing. ‘Since it was raw meat, few students could not bear smell and vomited,’ he adds.

Representational image | Wikimedia Commons

Hyderabad: A government school teacher from Telangana’s Vikarabad district has been suspended for bringing what authorities suspect was a cow’s brain to teach students about the animal’s anatomy for a biology class. The incident, which took place at the Zilla Parishad Girls High School in Yalal Mandal, led to protests from Right-wing groups.

The bio-science teacher in question, identified as Khasimbee, was suspended in an order dated 25 June, signed by the district education officer of Vikarabad district.

Her teaching method, read the suspension order, caused “immense discomfort among the students and hurt the sentiments of students and parents”.

According to Vikarabad District Superintendent Narayana Reddy, a case has been registered, and the brain sample has also been sent to the Telangana Forensics Science Laboratory to determine if it belongs to a cow. “We have registered a case. She brought it as part of her class (to teach), we were told,” he told ThePrint.

Adding, “Since it was raw meat, a few students could not bear the smell and vomited.”

Since cow slaughter is banned in Telangana, this amounted to an offence under the law, he said. “We need to check if it was of a cow. She could have brought the brain of any other animal instead.”

Under Telangana Prohibition of Cow Slaughter and Animal Preservation Act, 1977, “bull, bullock, buffalo, male or female, or calf, whether male or female of a she-buffalo” are protected. The definition of a cow “includes a heifer, or a calf, whether male or female, of a cow”.

The incident prompted protests, held near the school, by Right-wing groups. Protesters were pacified by police. Reddy told ThePrint that nobody was injured in the protests.

This comes days after cow vigilantes reportedly thrashed cattle traders in the days leading up to Bakri Eid (7 June). Within 24 hours of the festival, two major incidents of violence were reported, including a vehicle carrying cattle waste getting torched in the Jalpally area of Hyderabad.

On 17 June, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also formed a three-member committee to formulate a “comprehensive” policy for cow protection in the state. According to a statement from his office, the three-member panel will look to set up cow shelters with state-of-the-art facilities at four locations in the first phase.

Members of the committee include special chief secretary of the animal husbandry department Sabyasachi Ghosh, principal secretary to endowments department Shailaja Ramaiyar, and secretary of the state agriculture department Raghunandan Rao.

(Edited by Sanya Mathur)