The menace of stray cattle has worsened on the roads of Ahmedabad, with a young man, Bhavin Patel, succumbing to multiple haemorrhages in the brain. Bhavin was rammed into by stray cattle in Naroda and died on the spot with three cracks in his skull.
Now, in a first, a complaint has been filed against the officers of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), entrusted with the job of tackling stray cattle in the city. The complaint is registered for a crime of culpable homicide, not amounting to murder.
The Gujarat High Court had directed the state government, the city police commissioner and the director general of police to produce action plans to control stray cattle on public streets. Even though the Gujarat High Court has taken serious note of it, the city continues to be rocked by such incidents.
Recently, when the Government of Gujarat came up with a legislation to curb stray cattle menace in the state, the Maldharis, essentially a community of pastoralists, who comprise a major vote bank, revolted against it. With the elections approaching, it’s obvious that no political party would antagonise such a large, close-knit community.
However, now that a case is registered against the AMC, there is panic among officials. Bhavin’s family has demanded strict and swift action against them. A case has also been registered against the owners of the cattle responsible for Bhavin’s death.
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