Team Clarion
BHOPAL — The administration in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district demolished eleven houses belonging to the members of the Muslims community after Police found beef in their refrigerators.
An FIR was also lodged against 11 persons following the recovery of the beef on Friday.
The police said that the houses were built on government land and the bulldozer action was taken as part of an operation against “illegal beef trade”.
The action was taken after a tip-off was received that a large number of cows had been held for slaughter in the Bhainwahi area in Nainpur, Mandla Superintendent of Police Rajat Saklecha told PTI.
“A team was rushed there and we found 150 cows tied in the backyards of the accused. Cow meat was recovered from the refrigerators in the homes of all the 11 accused. We also found animal fat, cattle skin and bones, which were stuffed in a room,” he said.
“The local government veterinarian has confirmed the seized meat is beef. We have also sent samples to Hyderabad for secondary DNA analysis. The houses of the 11 accused were demolished as they were on government land,” the SP said.
“The 150 cows have been sent to a cattle shelter. The Bhainswahi area has become a hub of cow smuggling for some time now. Cow slaughter in MP is punishable with a jail term of seven years,” Mr Saklecha added.
The bulldozer action has sparked massive criticism with prominent Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan describing it “fascist rule”.
“This is fascist rule of the jungle! Only in BJP ruled states,” said Bhushan while reacting to the reports of house demolition.
There were others also who raised objections to the bulldozer action against 11 Muslim families.
Yusuf Ahmad Ansari, a social media activist, said “Such arbitrary injustices are deliberately normalised and injustice is to be expected, indeed in certain states of the union, it is an arm of policy. The real concern is the absence of any judicial recourse to prevent such an injustice. How can that be reformed, or awakened?”.
This is the second such action that has happened in Madhya Pradesh in the last few days. In Ratlam district, the administration demolished houses of Muslim men after a body part of a cow was found at a temple in the area. Following the incident, Hindutva groups took to the streets demanding action against the culprits. Two Muslim men, who were blamed for putting the body part in the temple, were arrested by the police.
