: The Haryana government on Tuesday appointed IPS officer Bharti Arora to supervise the functioning of teams constituted across the State to check slaughter and smuggling of cows.
An official spokesman said that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had approved a proposal to this effect. The headquarter of Ms. Arora will be at Bhondsi in Gurgaon. Ms. Arora was in the news this past year for being involved in a public spat with Gurgaon CP Navdeep Virk over investigation into a rape case. She was later transferred.
The spokesperson said that 62 Non-gazetted Officers and 224 Other Rank Police Personnel had been posted in these police teams.
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He said the State police had also launched a 24-hour helpline number – 8284030455- for people to report incidents of cow smuggling or slaughter.
As many as 307 cases have been registered between January 1 and April 30 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960. Also, 85 cases have been registered under the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955. During this period, 191 cows have been rescued and 446 persons have been arrested.
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The Haryana government had last year enacted the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, which has a provision of imprisonment of up to 10 years in case of cow slaughter.
Cow slaughter and smuggling is a sensitive issue across Haryana, as the animal is held in high respect and locals have formed several “Gau Rakshak Dals” to keep a vigil on those involved in the crime. Recently, a video had surfaced where “Gau Rakshaks” were seen forcibly feeding cow dung to two alleged beef smugglers in Faridabad.