– Raheem Khan
Jaipur, Feb. 22: On Monday, after a newspaper published a report on February 18 about slaughter of cattle and sale of beef, the police and administration in Alwar district bulldozed 70 bighas of land occupied by the accused in the Rundh Gidawada forest and demolished 12 houses. The police also took 30 people into custody.
ADM Surendra Singh Yadav said the accused had occupied 200 bighas of government land. Of this, the wheat and mustard crop sown on 70 bighas of land was destroyed by bulldozer. A dozen houses of the accused were also removed.
Dinesh Bhadana, AEN of Electricity Corporation, said five domestic connections of the accused have been disconnected and five electricity poles and two transformers have also been removed.
Khairthal-Tijara Acting SP Anil Beniwal said the police also found a dozen cows brought for cow slaughter in the forest, which were rescued and sent to the cowshed. Raids were conducted in six villages around the forest throughout Sunday night and 30 suspects were taken into custody, including several named accused. So far, the police have taken about 50 suspects into custody and questioned them, but are not disclosing their names.
According to reports, the entire Rundh Gidawada forest is littered with the remains of cattle that have been slaughtered and sold for beef for many years. Skeletons and skins are constantly being found in these forests. The police have so far been able to search only an area of about 4 kilometers, while the forest is spread over an area of 15 to 20 kilometers. On Monday, the police also excavated several places with a bulldozer to remove the skins. Now the administration is facing the crisis of disposing of these remains.
In this whole case, the collusion of revenue department officials with the police has also come to the fore. They say cow slaughterers occupied 500 bighas of forest land and made illegal constructions. Later, they started cow slaughter and beef market, and started cultivating on the government land. The officials from Patwari to Tehsildar did not even inform about the occupation of government land in the Rundh Gidawada forest, cow slaughter, setting up a market and selling beef and encroachment and illegal construction. Villagers allege that the Girdawar and Patwari colluded with the higher officials and got the land occupied and also got the boring and electricity connection done.
ADM Surendra Singh Yadav said the role of the land record inspector Patwari, Gram Vikas Adhikari is also being investigated. Kishangarhbas SDM Vijendra Meena said the land on which the encroachment has been done is a non-mumkin forest.
Forest and Environment Minister of State Sanjay Sharma reached the Rundhh Gidawada forest on Monday. He freed a dozen cows tied there and sent them to the cowshed. When he raised questions about the encroachments and electricity connections made by the accused in the forests, the administration immediately started taking action. A meeting of police and administrative officials was also held.
A team of activists led by Devendra Singh Chauhan, District President of Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, visited the Rundh Gidawada forest. He picked up the remains of cattle, sprinkled Gangajal on them, and purified them. He has demanded the administration dispose of the remains.
