The carcasses of 37 cows were found in a forest in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district on Saturday night, PTI reported. The owner of a nearby cowshed, Manharan Sahu, has been arrested.
The animals were all from the same cowshed, and died over the past two weeks, but the cause of their death is unclear, Dhamtari District Collector CR Prasanna told PTI. “Our investigation shows most of the cows at the shelter were weak and injured,” Prasanna said.
However, he ruled out starvation or lack of water as reasons for the deaths. The official said Sahu had set up the shelter a few months ago.
Sahu told investigating authorities that farmers would leave the cows at the cowshed after they became weak or got injured. He said they paid him Rs 600 or Rs 700 a cow. He admitted to dumping the carcasses in the forest, PTI reported.
The villagers who found the carcasses and filed a police complaint alleged that at least 100 cows had died of “starvation and lack of care” at the cowshed in the past month, The New Indian Express reported.
The collector said the administration will use an emergency fund sanctioned by the Gau Sewa Ayog to ensure better care for the remaining cows at the shelter.
In August this year, the BJP government in Chhattisgarh was criticised after more than 200 cows died of starvation and neglect in three shelters that month.
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