Rajasthan: Gaushala ordered to return cows ‘snatched’ from dairy farmer

For the last 10 days, Subba Khan had been running from pillar to post in a desperate quest to retrieve his cows. Even now, the gaushala management isn’t willing to part with the animals without a fight.

The Alwar district administration on Monday directed cow protection activists to return 51 cows owned by one Subba Khan after the Kishangarh Bas station house officer (SHO) submitted a report confirming that the person was a dairy farmer by profession.

A relative of Subba Khan feeds calves with a milk bottle after their mothers were shifted to a cow shelter in Alwar. (HT Photo)

Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Subhash Yadav issued the order after receiving a police report stating that no case of cow smuggling had ever been filed against Khan. However, the bovines could not be immediately returned because the dairy farmer was not around.

“I received a memorandum from villagers that Subba Khan has had about 60 cows and calves for many years now, and he is not involved in cow slaughter. On October 3, Khan’s cows were grazing when some people – accompanied by police personnel – took 51 of them to the Shri Krishna Gaushala at Bambora ki Ghati on a false complaint,” said Yadav.

The SDM then asked the Kishangarh Bas SHO to probe the issue on October 6. The police officer recorded the statements of many people, including gaushala workers and the Mahond sarpanch, and finally reached the conclusion that Khan was only involved in selling cow milk.

Khan was unavailable for comment.

For the last 10 days, the dairy farmer had been running from pillar to post in a desperate quest to retrieve his cows. Though police said they took the animals away “to prevent a law-and-order problem”, the dairy farmer’s family insisted on dubbing it as an instance of cow vigilantism.