In Malwa district, Madhya Pradesh, the state government bulldozed residential structures of four people accused of killing an ox. The incident occurred following the arrest of Sonu Mansuri, Razzaq Khan, Rahul Gujjar, and Durga Shankar, charged under IPC sections 429 & 34, along with section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, based on a complaint filed by Deepak Sen, 27.
The demolition came in the wake of protests led by members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), who blocked a highway for four hours, calling for action against the accused.
The motives behind the killing of the ox remain unclear, but police sources suggest an ongoing conflict between the Gujjar brothers and the ox, which allegedly frequently damaged their crops.
According to the police report, the Gujjar brothers sought assistance from Sonu Mansuri and Razzaq Khan when they discovered the ox on their field on Sunday night. Allegedly tying the animal to a tree, they subjected it to assault, resulting in its death.
However, the incident took a communal turn as news spread that Muslims were involved in the ox killing. In response to Hindu groups’ demands, the administration not only filed an FIR but also took the unprecedented step of demolishing the accused individuals’ homes, the following morning.
