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Ahead of Maha local body elections all cases against organisers of, participants in bullock cart races withdrawn
Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil said government has decided withdraw all cases across the state against bullock cart owners
With local body elections in Maharashtra drawing closer, the state government has decided to go soft on bullock cart racing.
The government has now decided to withdraw all cases against those who participated in bullock cart races, including during lockdowns.
A meeting has been organised on Tuesday to explore legal ways to resume the races in Maharashtra.
The announcement with regard to withdrawing of cases was made by Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil on Saturday.
Walse Patil, while speaking in Ambegaon, said, “We are on the same side here and want to restart races. However there is ban by the Supreme Court, which will not be taking cognisance of your protest. At the same time, the government has decided withdraw all cases across the state against bullock cart owners,” said Walse Patil.
Earlier last week, BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar and some 50 others were booked for allegedly organising a bullock cart race in Atpadi tehsil of Sangli, defying a ban on the activity.
The race took place in the early hours of Friday near Jhare village, a little away from the venue that was advertised among local residents and where a huge police posse was deployed, an official said.
Padalkar said police had told them that the race could create a law and order problem and organisers cooperated.
‘However, we came to know that some other farmers organised a bullock race somewhere else. The state government must respect the sentiments of people and allow such races. It should approach the Supreme Court for resumption of bullock cart races,’ he said.
An Atpadi police station official said Padalkar and 41 supporters and some 8-10 unidentified people have been booked under IPC, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Disaster Management Act provisions.
Sangli’s superintendent of police Dikshit Gedam said bullock cart races are banned in the state and action would be taken against those violating it.
Maharashtra minister Jayant Patil said a meeting has been organised by the animal husbandry minister to explore if the bullock cart races can resume in Maharashtra.
