Following the incident of overturning of a truck illegally transporting cattle that resulted in the death of three men and many cattle in Odisha, Union Minister of state for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Pratap Chandra Sarangi urged the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to make the Orissa Cow Slaughter Act, 1960 more stringent.
On Thursday, a truck carrying around 100 cattle was heading towards West Bengal when it overturned on NH-60 near Balasore district. The accident caused the death of around 40 cattle, along with three men. The incident took place when the vehicle was moving towards West Bengal from Bhadrak. The truck hit an SUV on the highway and overturned near Basta bypass square in Jaleswar.
Illegal transporting of cattle rampant in Odisha: Sarangi
In his letter to the Odisha Chief Minister, Sarangi said that illegal transporting of cattle was rampant in the state and this pointed at the leniency in the law enforcement coupled with alleged tacit support from the agencies that are supposed to enforce the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act 1960 and the Prevention to Cruelty to Animals Act,1960. “When I was in Kolkata this morning, I heard the news. I have spoken to the top officials in Odisha. I can without any doubts say the cattle were being taken to be slaughtered in abattoirs of Kolkata and Bangladesh”, the Union Minister said.
Punishment under the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act be made at par with murder: Sarangi
The Union Minister demanded that cow slaughter should be treated at par with the offence of murder of a human. He said that the punishment under the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act to be made as stringent as that in case of murder. “This Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960 was one of the pioneering legislation in the country under the leadership of late Biju Patnaik. It’s time to make punishment under it more stringent at par with murder”, he wrote in his letter. He demanded that the incident should be investigated and the accused should be given the strictest punishment. “I call upon you to have the said incident investigated and exemplary punishment meted out to the accused”, he added.
Earlier this month, the Odisha police had reportedly rescued 12 cattle from Pathan Mahala under Old Bazar police limits in Bhadrak district while they were being smuggled in a postal parcel container.