Two booked for running over stray cattle in MP

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Police has booked two persons for running over stray cattle in two separate incidents.

A disturbing video of the incidents surfaced on social media which showed a calf sitting on the road along with a group of cows was run over by a car, leading to his death in Singrauli district.

The viral video shows that after blowing the horn, the driver initially slowed down the car, however, after the calf didn’t move, the driver accelerated speed and ran over the calf, killing him on the spot.

Police said that an FIR has been registered at Waidhan police station in Singrauli, also revealing that the incident occurred in the Vindhya Nagar area on September 5.

Nitin Pandey, a local resident, with the help of an NGO, lodged a complaint at Waidhan police station on September 6.

Police said that the accused, an unidentified person, has been booked under relevant sections of the Madhya Pradesh Govansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam - 2004.

On September 6, the police acting on a complaint by the same activist, registered another FIR for a similar incident in which a driver ran over a cow.

The accused (unidentified) has been booked under sections 4 and 9 of the MPGVPA, 2004, which makes the slaughter of any cow or cow progeny a cognisable and non-bailable offence punishable by a jail term of up to seven years and a minimum fine of Rs 5,000.

Police said the complaints were registered on the basis of information and evidence (video) received from the complainant and further investigation into the case is underway.

The cow accidents have become a daily nuisance as cattle are seen sitting on roads day and night, leading to road accidents and fatalities across Madhya Pradesh.

The state government has made an action plan several times regarding the stray cattle issue but till now no plan has been effective.

Recently, the state government has appointed five senior IAS officers to prepare a plan to control the stray cattle sitting on the roads.

The committee was given 15 days to chalk out a plan - the period has expired - however, no concrete plan has been executed so far on the ground.

Earlier in the Assembly also, the MLAs drew the attention of the government towards the issue of cattle stray and demanded concrete measures from the government.