Tension in Bhojpur after recovery of calf carcass, two arrested

Police said the two people claimed they had killed the calf as it was sick for the last few days.

Two persons were arrested for animal cruelty and hurting public sentiments following protest by cow vigilantes, after a calf carcass was found on Sunday, a day after Bakrid, at Sahar block in Bhojpur district, 55 km west of Patna.

With tension mounting, the accused fled from their house, only to be arrested by the police a couple of hours later from a location near the banks of the Sone river.

The arrested duo — Kalam Qureshi, 28, and Fayaz Qureshi, 25, both siblings — have confessed to killing the calf, the police said. The carcass of the calf was found on the campus of the siblings’ house.

The duo claimed to have killed the calf as it was sick for the last few days, Bhojpur SP Awakash Kumar told the Hindustan Times.

The recovery of the carcass sparked a furore as a mob gheraoed the siblings’ house at Sahar. With tension mounting, the siblings fled from their house, only to be arrested by the police a couple of hours later from a location near the banks of the Sone river, close to their house.

Eyewitnesses said a person, climbing a palm tree in the adjacent compound, spotted the carcass and informed the villagers. Soon a mob gathered in the area. The angry mob, which was demanding the duo’s arrest, also blocked the Ara-Arwal road for close to an hour between 7.30am and 8.30am.

Though the mob did not resort to vandalism, the crowd build-up prompted the district administration to seek reinforcement from Chauri, Azimabad and Narayanpur police stations as a precautionary measure.

The mob later relented following the duo’s arrest.

The SP claimed that the situation was peaceful and under control.