13 booked after 208 bovines go missing from cow shelter

Nagpur: Bhandara police have registered offences of cheating, forgery and other charges, apart from provisions of Cruelty to Animals Act, against 13 office bearers of Maa Gaukaushal Bahuddeshiya Sanstha at Lakhni after a probe found 208 rescued bovines had gone missing from their cow shelter at Brahmani over the last couple of months.
Sine 285 bovines rescued while being taken to illegal slaughterhouses by the Salekasa police of Gondia district in August had been kept at the Brahamni cow shelter. The court had ordered them to keep the rescued bovines safely until the disposal of the case.
The office bearers of the cow shelter, including president Dudhram Uike, secretary Chandrashekhar Menpale, vice president Rameshwar Nimbarte, and 10 other co-accused, declared in their records that 175 bovines had died. They had also prepared fake panchanama of 159 bovines with bogus signatures.
The cow shelter management also declared that 33 bovines were handed over to villagers, using fake declaration certificates.
An offence was registered against the 13 accused at Sakoli police station following a probe into the missing bovines. It is believed that the missing bovines were sold to cattle smugglers and slaughterhouse mafia, said a senior police official.
This is the second such offence registered against the cow shelter management. Earlier, Pauni police had registered similar offences against 17 persons, including four veterinarians.