RAIPUR: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Harish Verma who was arrested after dozens of cows starved to death at his cattle shelter in Durg district of Chhattisgarh, was produced before the district court on Saturday and sent to jail.
Durg district police chief Amresh Mishra told the New Indian Express, “The court has sent him to jail and we are gathering facts. Early next week, after the probe team finishes its investigation, we will seek police remand of Verma.” Verma, who is also the vice-president in Jamul municipality, was charged under sections IV and VI of the Chhattisgarh Agriculture Cattle Preservation Act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and section 409 of IPC (criminal breach of trust).
The Durg administration said that in three days 28 cows died in the government-aided cow shelter owned by Verma at Rajpur village. However, local villagers claimed the figure to be over 200.
Though the exact cause of deaths was yet to be ascertained, the probe team on the after preliminary investigation suspected the cows to have died of starvation and lack of proper care in the shelter home. Expressing shock over the incident CM Raman Singh ordered an inquiry into all the cow shelters across the state.