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Amroha cow deaths: Govt asks probe committee to present conclusive report
The committee probing the incident in which 61 cows died after consuming poison-laden green fodder (millet) in a ‘gaushala’ in the Hasanpur area of Amroha on August 4 has been asked to come out with a conclusive report after the forensic science lab (FSL) in Moradabad reveals its findings about the exact cause of bovine deaths
The committee probing the incident in which 61 cows died after consuming poison-laden green fodder (millet) in a ‘gaushala’ in the Hasanpur area of Amroha on August 4 has been asked to come out with a conclusive report after the forensic science lab (FSL) in Moradabad reveals its findings about the exact cause of bovine deaths.
The Amroha police, on the other hand, are now investigating the matter from a possible conspiracy angle after the fodder supplier and prime accused Tahir was arrested on Monday evening. He had been absconding since an FIR was registered against him and police had declared a reward of ₹50,000 on his head.
The probe committee headed by the additional chief secretary, animal husbandry, Rajnish Dubey, submitted its preliminary report to the chief minister’s office here on Sunday.
CM Yogi Adityanath had ordered the constitution of the investigation committee that also comprised the divisional commissioner, Moradabad and the director of animal husbandry.
People aware of the development said that the CM office found the preliminary report incomplete. It asked the committee to present a complete and conclusive report, taking into account the FSL’s findings.
When contacted over the phone, Moradabad divisional commissioner, Anjney Kumar Singh, said the FSL was examining, among other things, the kind of poison that the fodder was laden with.
“It may take only a few days more for the FSL to make its report, after that a conclusive report will be sent to the government,” he said.
The police, meanwhile, have sent 12 accused, including fodder supplier Tahir and village pradhan Ram Avtar to jail. Avtar had engaged Tahir to supply green fodder to the ‘gaushala’ (cow protection centre) set up by the government for the upkeep of stray cattle.
Superintending of Police (SP), Amroha Aditya Langeh said that the intention of prime accused Tahir, who was nabbed on Monday evening after a bounty was declared on his head, was doubtful in the entire episode.
“Tahir was called to the gaushala when three-four cows had already died. He visited the place but then left to deliver the green fodder to other cow protection centres in the area,” the SP said over the phone, adding, “We are trying to find out whether he supplied the fodder to other places or not.”
“It has also been verified that Tahir supplied green fodder to the gaushala for the first time. He had grown fodder on a piece of land taken on lease,” the SP revealed.
Langeh said that police had also recovered some chemical fertilisers from Tahir’s house and had sent the same for lab investigation. “We have also recovered the truck used to supply fodder,” he added.
Asserting that the deaths of 61 cows was not a small thing, the SP further said that the matter was being investigated from all possible angles, including the conspiracy angle with a focus on possible complicity between Tahir and the village pradhan. “But much will depend on the FSL’s findings on the kind of poison found in dead cows’ bodies and on the fodder etc,” the SP pointed out.
