Cow slaughter to carry 7-year jail term in MP

By Suchandana Gupta

Madhya Pradesh : Killing a cow in Madhya Pradesh would now carry a seven year jail term. Besides, the onus would be squarely on an accused to prove that he did not do it.

This comes into effect with the Madhya Pradesh Cow Slaughter Prohibition (Amendment) Act 2010 getting Presidential assent, after a wait of nearly two years. The order has since been published in the extraordinary gazette.

Even transporting a cow outside the state for slaughter has been made punishable under the new Act.

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan BJP government had passed the amendment bill in 2010 in the state assembly to protect and conserve cows and remove the flaws in the already existing Madhya Pradesh Gauvansh Pratishedh Adhiniyam (Madhya Pradesh Bovine Prohibition Act) 2004. The bill was forwarded to the Union home ministry for the Presidential assent on September 3, 2010.

This bill has come exactly ten years after the Ganj Basoda cow slaughter riots, which ensured the BJP’s victory in the state in 2003 elections. Riots had broken out in Ganj Basoda, 80 km from Vidisha a decade ago after the VHP took to the streets alleging that cows were being secretly slaughtered by the minority community, despite its ban in the state. The then BJP governmentunder Uma Bharati passed the earlier Act in 2004 ,which has now been made more stringent by the 2010 amendment.

The earlier punishment for killing a cow was 3 years in jail and a minimum fine of Rs 5,000. The amended Act provides that no person shall slaughter or should cause to slaughter a cow or offer for slaughter any animal belonging to the cow progeny, by any means.

It says that no person, including transporters, shall transport or offer for transport or cause to be transported any cow progeny himself or by any other person on his behalf, within or outside the State for slaughter.

Source: The Times of India