LUCKNOW: A married woman orchestrated a scheme to implicate her husband in a false cow-slaughter case, intending to seek a divorce and live with her paramour, leading to her husband being arrested twice and three policemen facing disciplinary action for attempting to apprehend her on the premises of the Allahabad High Court.
The woman, who managed to flee amid the chaos triggered by the police action, is accused of attempting twice to implicate her husband, a businessman, for cow slaughter by planting meat in locations linked to him, using social media networks and right-wing groups to provoke police intervention.
Three policemen, a sub-inspector and two constables, were booked on charges of providing false information to gain access to a high-security zone and trespass, following strong objections from advocates to their presence at the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court.
According to senior police officials, the woman had been in a relationship with a BTech graduate from Bhopal, whom she met through social media around two years ago. Gradually, the relationship intensified, and he began visiting her in Lucknow frequently.
Sources said the two conspired to implicate the woman’s husband in a cow-slaughter case, intending not only to get him jailed but also to create a pretext for her to file for divorce.
As part of the alleged plan hatched in August last year, the man reportedly joined a right-wing social media group under a false identity and, in September, planted around 2 kg of meat in the businessman’s vehicle with her assistance.
They then informed the group, which alerted the police, leading to the husband’s arrest. He was sent to jail but was released on bail a month later.
Police said a second attempt took place in January this year, when the woman allegedly booked a supply vehicle using her husband’s phone and shared the details with her paramour, who brought 10 kg of meat to Lucknow.
The consignment was taken to a location near her husband’s business unit, and the right-wing group was informed again.
The consignment was intercepted after the police were tipped off, prompting investigators to scrutinise CCTV footage from the couple’s residence, revealing further links between the woman and her paramour, as her husband had suspected she was having an affair.
While the paramour was later arrested following a police trap, the woman fled and went missing, triggering a surveillance operation that led to the controversial attempt to detain her on the High Court premises.
The ensuing chaos allowed her to escape again, while the policemen involved were taken into custody.
Police said cases were registered against the woman and her alleged accomplice under the Cow Slaughter Act and the conspiracy provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Forensic examination of the recovered meat is awaited, and further investigation continues.