Madhya Pradesh: 11 homes demolished after police claim to find beef in refrigerators

Eleven homes were demolished by authorities in Madhya Pradesh’s tribal-majority Mandla district on Saturday after police claimed to have found beef, animal hides and the skeletal remains of cattle there, reported PTI.

The incident took place in the district’s Bhainswahi village on Saturday.

“A team was rushed there and we found 150 cows tied in the backyards of the accused,” Mandla Superintendent of Police Rajat Saklecha told PTI. “Cow meat was recovered from the refrigerators in the homes of all the 11 accused. We also found animal fat, cattle skin and bones, which were stuffed in a room.”

He added that a local government veterinarian confirmed that the seized meat was beef.

“We have also sent samples to Hyderabad for secondary DNA analysis,” he said. “The houses of the11 accused were demolished as they were on government land.”

While, there are no provisions in law that provide for demolishing property as a punitive measure, this has been a growing trend in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states.

In the Bhainswahi case, the police claimed that they took the action because the homes were illegally built on 15,000 square feet of government land, reported The Indian Express.

The superintendent of police said that local revenue teams had sent notices pertaining to the alleged illegal encroachments to those whose homes were demolished.

“The accused...

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