In Maharashtra Bail Pola, a festival worshipping cattle is celebrated with fervour, this is a form of thanksgiving by the farmers to the cattle for their priceless service. Cattle during the rituals are treated as family members.
But in this time auspicious time of Bail Pola festival, farmers of Jalna’s Amba village were in pain when they found six cows and four calves electrocuted.
According to FIR copy available with Organiser, Suresh Joshi, the priest of the local temple in Amba village approached the police to register a complaint against Latif Shaikh for causing death of four cows and two calves.
The Gaushala Bageshwari temple of the Amba village nurtured 12-15 cows and calves. Joshi in the FIR has stated that on August 26, when the farmers were celebrating Bail Pola around 2-2.30 pm they found out that four cows and two calves were dead. Latif Shaikh who tills the farmland belonging to Babu Naseeruddin, close to the where the cows graze, decided to put live wires on the fence without anyone’s knowledge. This caused the death of the four cows and two calves due to electrocution.
The FIR further states that, some cows and calves couldn’t be located either. Not only this two wild boars also got electrocuted due to the live wire, reads the FIR.
The cost of the cows and calves that died due to electrocution have been identified to be ₹1.5 lakh in the FIR.
The villagers upset as the incident took place on Bail Pola day and hence, they didn’t celebrate the festival meant to worship and thank the cattle. The teary-eyed village women performed the final rites by doing arati and offering 700-800 sarees.
Partur Police under whose jurisdiction the incident took place arrested the accused Latif Shaikh under sections 427 and 429 of the IPC. These sections deal in mischief by killing or maiming a cattle.
A senior police officer from Partur police station confirmed the arrest and said that the accused Latif Shaikh has been sent to custody by the court.
