Communal tension prevailed in Bihar’s Hathmara, Pokhara in Kuju OP area after fresh bones and hair of a ‘prohibited’ animal was found in the backyard of a government Urdu primary school Wednesday. As per a report in Jagran, people of a community got together and expressed anger over the incident.
As per reports, a calf of one Umesh Yadav, a resident of the village Pokhara, had gone missing on Tuesday. The villagers learnt on Wednesday that some fresh, bones and hair of a ‘prohibited’ animal was seen lying in the backyard of the Urdu school. Suspecting that the carcass found in the backyard of the school was that of the calf belonging to Umesh Yadav, the villagers got angry. They demanded legal action against Muslim Tola residents, Aziz Ansari, Mohammad Yunus Ansari, Mohammad Ansari, Jibril Ansari and Gulamuddin Ansari for trading in banned meat in the locality.
Later the calf was found, but the villages continued with their demand for action against trade in prohibited meats, and inquiry on the meat found behind the Urdu school.
When the police got the information about a possible communal flareup, Kuju OP in-charge, Bharat Paswan Sadal Bal rushed to the spot with his team and requested the people of both the communities to either settle the dispute amicably by 4 ‘o’clock in the evening or face legal consequences.
When the five accused, along with other members of their community did not appear until evening, the villagers along with Umesh Yadav demanded legal action against the culprits.
Article 48 of the Indian constitution states that state shall preserve the breed and prohibit cow slaughter including caves, milch and other drought cattle. 20 out of 28 states in India currently have various laws regulating the act of slaughtered cow, prohibiting the slaughter or sale of cows. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and West Bengal are the states where there are no complete restrictions on cow slaughter.