In Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh, NSA invoked against three men accused of cow slaughter

The police were acting on a tip-off that a few persons were allegedly involved in the illegal act of slaughtering a cow.

According to police, Nadeem was earlier also involved in the slaughtering of cows and was wanted in the case./ GETTY/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE

Khandwa: In Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh, the stringent National Security Act (NSA) was slapped against three men accused of killing a cow at Khandwa on Tuesday. The trio, identified as Shakeel, Nadeem and Azam, were sent to jail by a local court on Monday. The police were acting on a tip-off that a few persons were allegedly involved in the illegal act of slaughtering a cow. The Moghat police station in-charge, Mohan Singore said that they raided a place at Kharkali village near here last Friday and seized a large knife and beef from the spot". However, the accused fled from the spot during the police action, he further added. But police arrested them on Saturday from their different hideouts in Khandwa city and district collector, Vishesh Garhpale, slapped the provisions of the NSA against them, Singore said. "On Monday, they were produced before a local court, which sentenced them to jail under the NSA and other relevant sections of the IPC," he added. According to police, Nadeem was earlier also involved in the slaughtering of cows and was wanted in the case. During the election campaign in the recently held state assembly polls, the Congress stepped up its efforts to focus on cow protection. It planned to establish a cow shed in every panchayat and said it would deliver on these promises. This was seen as the party’s attempt to counter BJP’s core Hindutva agenda. On Tuesday, BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said the Congress is following in the previous Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s footsteps. He told a leading daily that the Congress government is merely trying to follow the actions of the previous BJP state government in view of the Lok Sabha elections. Congress spokesperson J.P. Dhanopia said that chief minister Kamal Nath has asked district and police administration to take all actions necessary to “maintain law and order”. He added, “The government is sensitive towards cow-related issues and such action will be taken in future too.” (agency inputs)