Normal life was thrown out of gear in the Malwa belt following a bandh call given by Hindu organisations in protest against the Mansa incident, where cows were allegedly being slaughtered in a factory. Even the searing heat failed to deter the protesters, who took out rallies through the towns.
A complete shut down was witnessed in Sangrur, Mandi Gobindgarh, Dhuri, Barnala, Sunam, Bahadurgarh and Patran towns, where commercial establishments, including markets, remained closed on Tuesday. In Mandi Gobindgarh in Fatehgarh Sahib district, many big business empires also joined the bandh call and staged protests.
All government establishments and medical shops remained open. Workers of organisations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena, Hindu Helpline, Gau Raksha Dal and Hindu Raksha Samiti staged protests and asked the state government to draft strict laws on cow slaughter. The bandh remained peaceful.
On Monday evening, tension gripped Rajpura when the police stopped a truck loaded with cows. Police said more than 50 cows recovered from the truck were being taken to a factory at Sanmuli in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
Rajpura SP Manmohan Singh said the truck HR-45-A- 4016 loaded the cows from Jalandhar and the three persons travelling in the truck were taking them to a slaughterhouse. While the police managed to arrest Sharabh Khan, the other two, identified as Islam Khan and Bilal Khan, fled from the spot. The cows have been handed over to a local gaushala.
{{/usCountry}}Rajpura SP Manmohan Singh said the truck HR-45-A- 4016 loaded the cows from Jalandhar and the three persons travelling in the truck were taking them to a slaughterhouse. While the police managed to arrest Sharabh Khan, the other two, identified as Islam Khan and Bilal Khan, fled from the spot. The cows have been handed over to a local gaushala.
{{/usCountry}}All the accused have been booked under section 4 (a) and 4 (b) of Cow Slaughter Act 1955 and Cruelty to Animal Act 1960 at Rajpura Sadar police station.
The SP said investigations were on in the case and a special team had been constituted to look into such cases. In Patiala district, the Hindu organisations have given a call for complete shut down on Wednesday.
Two ministers visit Joga, curfew off
Joga (Mansa): After two days of arson over cow slaughter, this village of Mansa district on Tuesday looked to have settled its anger.
Irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon and education minister Sikander Singh Maluka landed at
Joga, and agreed to go after the butchers and inspect the state's entire stray-cattle pounds, besides factories making powder from animal bones.
On Monday night, the curfew was off.