Cow slaughter triggers protest in Malout; 2 held

Malout : Tension prevailed in the town after two persons were nabbed for allegedly slaughtering cows at a vacant plot on the Shekhu road here last night. A pickup vehicle used to transport cows was impounded.Those arrested are Rakesh Kumar and Ramesh Kumar. Their three accomplices managed to flee. A case under various sections of the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act and Sections 295-A, 278, 429, 148 and 149 of the IPC has been registered against them.
Later, activists of some Hindu organisations and the BJP staged a protest in the town. They also damaged the pickup vehicle used to transport cows.
The protest was resumed at Gandhi Chowk today. The activists took out a march in the town and appealed to the shopkeepers to close their business establishments.
Keemti Lal Bhagat, Chairman, Gau Sewa Commission, Punjab, visited the town today. He formed a five-member committee to probe the matter and directed the district police and the administration to deal with this issue diligently and file a report in seven days. Bhagat said he had last night tried to speak to the SSP, Muktsar, and IGP, Bathinda zone, but none of them answered his phone call. He said: “If the police officers don’t answer our phone calls, I can understand the plight of the commoners.”