Gujarat court hands life sentence to 3 in cow slaughter case; govt hails verdict as 'historic'

Amreli | A sessions court in Gujarat's Amreli city has sentenced three persons to life imprisonment in a cow slaughter case and imposed a hefty fine of Rs 18 lakh on them, prosecution said on Wednesday.

This is the first instance in Gujarat where three persons have been handed life term in a cow slaughter case, it said.

Sessions Court Judge Rizwana Bukhari on Tuesday pronounced the three accused -- Kasim Haji Solanki, Sattar Ismail Solanki, and Akram Haji Solanki -- guilty under various sections of the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2017, in the Amreli cow slaughter case and sentenced them to life imprisonment, special public prosecutor (SPP) Chandresh Mehta said.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 18 lakh on the trio, he said.

As per the case details, police received a tip-off regarding certain individuals capturing and slaughtering cows and selling beef in Amreli city in 2023.

Acting on the tip-off, the police raided a house in the city and recovered 40 kg beef, and body parts of cows that were slaughtered along with equipment used for the purpose from the spot. While Kasim Solanki was caught immediately, the other two accused managed to flee and were arrested later.

Based on arguments and evidence presented in the court, the judge held the trio guilty under Section 5 of the Gujarat Animal Protection Act and imposed a fine of Rs 5,00,000 per accused (total Rs 15 lakh), Mehta said.

The accused were also sentenced to seven years in jail and fined Rs 1,00,000 each under section 6 (b) of the same Act (prohibition against selling or buying beef or beef products). They were also convicted under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to killing, poisoning, maiming, or rendering useless certain animals.

"This is the first time in Gujarat that a court has sentenced three accused to life imprisonment in a cow slaughter case," SPP Mehta said.

The Gujarat government hailed the verdict, with its spokesperson Jitu Vaghani saying the government under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was committed to cow protection and welfare.

"Cow is at the centre of Indian culture and faith. The state government will not show any mercy for crimes like cow slaughter," Vaghani told media persons.

The BJP government in Gujarat passed a strict law against cow slaughter in 2011 under the leadership of the then-Chief Minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The law was later amended in 2017 and the provision of life imprisonment was added.

"This verdict makes it clear that the state government will teach a strict legal lesson to those who do injustice to the cow. After this historic verdict, even those who think of cow slaughter in the future will tremble," Vaghani asserted.