BHOPAL: Districts neighbouring Maharashtra have emerged as the hotspots of cow smuggling cases in Madhya Pradesh.
As many as 6,014 cases of cow smuggling were registered across Madhya Pradesh between 2020 and 2025, more than half of which (54%) were lodged in districts adjoining Maharashtra. The state government recently shared in the Assembly detailed statistics pertaining to cow smuggling cases registered in the state between 2020 and 2025. Out of the 6,014 cases reported across the state in the aforesaid period, as many as 3,251 cases were reported in the districts of the Mahakoshal and Malwa-Nimar regions, which are neighboured by Maharashtra.
Among the districts neighbouring Maharashtra, a maximum of 727 cases were reported in Seoni, followed by 443 cases each in Khargone and Betul, 370 cases in Barwani, 313 cases in Chhindwara, 304 cases in Balaghat, 251 cases in Khandwa, 237 in Burhanpur, and 163 cases in Pandhurna.
These districts accounted for 54% of the total cases reported throughout the state. Next to the districts bordering Maharashtra were the districts neighboured by Rajasthan, which contributed to 992, or 16.5%, of the total cases in the state, said the detailed reply provided by the government in response to the question by Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar.
Importantly, Parmar’s home district, Ujjain, which is also home to CM Dr Mohan Yadav, reported 260 cases in the 2020-2025 period. In a written reply to the question, the state’s animal husbandry minister, Lakhan Patel, said that there has been a decrease in the number of cows smuggled in the state during the recent years. Some officers who have headed the police department in districts neighbouring Maharashtra said the statistics are not startling.
6K cases during 2020–25
As many as 6,014 cases of cow smuggling were registered across Madhya Pradesh between 2020 and 2025, more than half of which (54%) were lodged in districts adjoining Maharashtra. A maximum of 727 cases were reported in Seoni.