Beef ban law to get more teeth: Minister

Minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam said the government would consider the demand for imposing MCOCA against the repeat offenders and whether the local police could be held responsible in such cases

MUMBAI: The state government said on Thursday it would strengthen the law banning cow slaughter by enhancing the punishment for repeat offenders. The announcement was made amid concerns raised by legislators of the ruling parties that cow slaughter was “rampant” in the state despite the ban on beef. The government also announced a state-wide drive against illegal slaughter houses.

Banned Denied Declined Negative Stamp Concept (rawpixel.com)

Replying to a question in the legislative assembly on Thursday, minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam said stricter action would be taken against repeat offenders. BJP legislator Sanjay Upadhyay and other MLAs from his party and the Shiv Sena said cow slaughter was “rampant” despite the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amended) Act, 2015 being in place.

They demanded that repeat offenders be charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Upadhyay also said that the hands of offenders should be “chopped off”.

In response, Kadam said the law was not stringent enough to act as a deterrent. “It has been observed that there is no fear of the law among repeat offenders. This is because of the punishment of five years and a penalty of ₹10,000,” he said. “The government will amend the law to increase the sentence to ten years. The fine will also be increased.”

In March 2015, the then BJP-led government had banned the sale, possession and consumption of beef by amending the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amended) Act, which allowed the slaughter of old bulls and bullocks with the permission of local civic authorities. The amended legislation imposed a blanket ban on the slaughter of cows and their progeny — bulls and bullocks.

Kadam on Thursday said the government would consider the demand for imposing MCOCA against the repeat offenders and whether the local police could be held responsible in such cases.

Replying to the demand, Kadam also said he would direct the police to coordinate with gau rakshaks (self-proclaimed ‘cow protectors’) for action against individuals involved in the smuggling and slaughter of cows. “We will direct the police to have better coordination with gau rakshaks and see if they can be provided with identity cards,” he said.