Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, Gau Foundation’s Jagpreet luthra and members the Dhyan Foundation and other NGOs on Friday sought Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s intervention in checking cattle-smuggling through Odisha and action against Baleswar police officials who are allegedly aiding cattle-smugglers.
Maneka and others sought this in a written request after holding a demonstration at the Odisha Niwas in New Delhi.
“Repeated pleas to the police to enforce the animal welfare laws and to protect the mute animals against smuggling and slaughter have fallen on deaf ears,” the letter read.
“It is common knowledge that smuggling of cattle from Odisha into West Bengal is rampant and the police largely turn a blind eye to the crime or are hand-in-glove with the cattle mafia. The police complicity in the crime is what explains its alarming proportions,” explained luthra
The letter addressed to the Chief Minister was handed over to the Resident Commissioner of Odisha.
The demonstration organised by the Dhyan Foundation, supported by the PFA, under the banner of ‘United Humans Against Atrocities on Animals’, was attended by about 200 animal welfare activists.
The participants shouted slogans like “Band Karo Band Karo, Gau Hatya Band Karo” and “Har Har Mahadev.”
The banners read, “gau hatya desh hatya” and “gau bachao desh bachao.”
Baleswar police officials named in the letter are DSP(Crime) and SDPO Amresh Panda, Khantapada IIC Sudarshan Das, Jaleswar PS IIC Chandan Gadhai, Sadar IIC Dayanidhi Dash and Industrial IIC Paresh Rout.
According to Gau Gyan Foundation, on an average, 100 trucks, sealed containers and pick-up vans laden with cattle pass through Baleswar each day, mostly during the night and wee hours of the morning. A daily average of 5,000 cattle is smuggled into the slaughter houses of West Bengal and Bangladesh, the foundation alleged.