India
Gujarat court gives 3 life terms for cow slaughter
The Hindu·
A Gandhinagar court sentenced Vasim Qureshi, Mohammad Rafiq Qureshi and Asfaq Bahelim to life for cow slaughter. Judge BR Rajput also imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh. Police said six people were arrested with 277 kg of beef after a Jamla raid on August 22, 2024. Three of the six were convicted after 54 witnesses testified.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Gujarat’s Animal Preservation Act, as amended in 2017, allows life imprisonment for cow slaughter.
- The same Act provides up to ten years’ imprisonment for transport, storage or sale of beef.
- A fine of Rs 3 lakh was added to the life terms for the three convicts.
What's Happening
- Police raided a house in Jamla village, Gandhinagar, on August 22, 2024, and said they found 277 kg of beef and weapons.
- Six people were arrested. After trial, three were convicted and three were not.
- The judgment on Monday quoted the Manusmriti and other Hindu scriptures on the cow’s religious significance.
What the Statute Allows
- A 2017 amendment made Gujarat the first state to set life imprisonment for cow slaughter under the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act, 1954.
- In 2011, when Narendra Modi was chief minister, Gujarat banned cow slaughter and the sale and transport of cow meat through an earlier amendment.
- Sanghavi congratulated Gandhinagar police and prosecutors for the investigation that led to the sentence.
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