KARWAR: In a horrific case of animal cruelty, a pregnant cow was beheaded, its legs cut off and body ripped open and the unborn calf taken out, only to be mutilated, at Salkod village in Honnavar taluk of Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district Sunday.
This comes close on the heels of udders of three cows being severed in Bengaluru and chopping off a cow’s tail at Nanjangud in Mysuru.
The cow belonged to one Krishna Achari, who lodged a police complaint saying the animal was killed between Jan 18 and 19 while grazing outside the village. When Krishna went searching for the cow, he found its dismembered head and legs, and the calf’s mutilated body. He said he had owned the cow for 10 years, and considered it a family member.
Police registered a case against unknown persons under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Cops are probing if the cow was killed for meat or to instigate trouble in the district.
Several bovine killings reported in nearby villages in the district have been attributed to leopard attacks. However, the brutality of Sunday’s attack left local residents shocked and shaken.
Local BJP MLA Dinakar Shetty called for swift arrest of the perpetrators. BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and other party functionaries, too, condemned the latest attack on cows and targeted the Siddaramaiah govt, accusing it of having “a soft corner” for such elements.
State home minister G Parameshwara has ordered an inquiry into the incident. “We have to find a solution to this. This morning, I gave instructions that we have to take this seriously and we have to identify people who have such a mindset,” he said.
On the night of Jan 11, the udders of three cows were mutilated in Bengaluru’s Chamarajpet. Police had arrested a migrant worker from Bihar, Sheikh Nasru, and had claimed he attacked the cows under the influence of alcohol, and he appeared to be mentally unstable. Locals had, however, disputed the police claims.
