DAILEKH, Sept 4: A probe committee on cow death at Katkuwa of Surkhet has arrived here for the study and investigation. The committee held discussion with Chief District Officer, Yubaraj Kattel, in this regard, on Tuesday.

The seven-member team formed by Nepalgunj sub-metropolis under the coordination of High Court Bar Chair Bikas Acharya garnered information from various offices including the District Coordination Committee, Narayan municipality, Shirsthan Temple authority and others, according to team member Basanta Gautam. Nepalgunj sub-metropolis has admitted that some cows and oxen were killed inside the transporting vehicle due to managerial flaws while they were being transported to Dailekh. The Sub-metropolis added that it was planned to drop the cows at Katkuwa for grazing and gradually be taken up the hills for the distribution in various parts of the Dailekh district.

Earlier, the stray cows were kept in pinfold by the Nepalgunj sub-metropolis. Two weeks back, the Dailekh people had however heard that improved species of the cows and bulls were being taken to and distributed freely in the district. The District Coordination Committee said if the crossbred cows were provided to the district, they could be given to the farmers. The officials here have requested everyone not to take it negatively, because the cows and oxen were being brought for good intention. Some of the cattle died on the midway owing to technical mistakes, they added. However, the Sirsthan management committee, Bhairab rural municipality and Narayan municipality have made it clear that they had not involved in the transportation of cows.

Chief Administrative Officer at Nepalgunj sub-metropolis, Hari Pyakurel, said the cattle were being transported to Dailekh for distributing to the farmers. Among 191 cows and oxen being transported to Dailekh from Nepalgunj, 33 were found dead in the forest of Katkuwa of Birendranagar in Surkhet last week. After the dispute mounted on the killing, the remaining cattle were taken back to Nepal sub-metropolis. District Police Office Surkhet apprehended seven persons in this connection and began a further investigation. (RSS)

KATHMANDU, Sept 3: The international committee of the World Hindu Youth Association has cautioned that there will be rigorous agitation against the current government if the culprits involved in cow slaughter go unpunished.

Several leaders spoke at a special interaction program held at the Reporters Club today speaking about the heinous killing of seven cows and injuring six others by throwing them off a cliff in Birendranagar municipality of Surkhet district.

The statement issued by the committee’s general secretary, Roshan Jung Basnet said ” cows are sacred in our eternal religious practice ( Sanatan Dharma). it is a symbol of purity as we receive and enrich ourselves with its milk, and since it is also a national animal this incident is out of the ordinary”.

(Roshan Jung Basnet) 

Similarly, Bankeshwar Padhadhish Padam Dharacharya spoke and laid emphasis on the conservation of cows. He said that the present government would be wholly disadvantaged if it could not protect the sanctity of Hinduism. He outrightly condemned the gruesome incident and demanded that the culprits be dealt severely in accordance with the law.

(Bankeshwar Padhadhish Padam Dharacharya) 

The coordinator of the National Religion Awakening Nepal and former Member of Parliament Shankar Prasad Pandey said that the government was hand in glove along with the Nepalgunj sub-metropolis. He said, ” I returned to Kathmandu just yesterday after the incident of cow-slaughter, and found that both Nepalgunj sub-municipality and the central government are involved”.

(Shankar Prasad Pandey)

Bikram Singh Dhami the spokesman of Jagatguru Balasanta Ashram said that the killing was extremely unfortunate and it was damaging to leave the cows to be fed upon by vultures in the far west. He also said that the actions against the culprits were necessary and that government intervention seeking to play the national anthem in the Pashupatinath temple premises during the evening ritual of aarti was more of an intervention which was unnecessary.

(Bikram Singh Dhami) 

During the press conference, Sagar Thapa the central Chairman of the International Committee of the World Hindu Youth Association alleged that there was direct involvement of the Nepalgunj sub-metropolitan area and the central government. He said, “This is a planned event, there must be a serious and impartial investigation to dig deeper into the truth and bring out the facts”. He also suggested that the Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa should work towards arresting the culprits of this incident and take a formal stance. He said ” many previous cases have gone unsolved, the rape of Nirmala Pant and the recent suicide scandal of journalist Salikram Pudasaini, so in order to clear his sins he has to take strong action against the culprits in this case. Sagar Thapa also warned that the government intervention to play the national anthem is unacceptable as religion and politics should be separate.

(Sagar Thapa)

Vice-President of the World Hindu Federation Nepal National Committee, Bansbari and former minister Dinabandhu Aryal accused the government of mindlessly assassinating cows who are treated as religiously and sentimentally supreme instead of protecting them for the national sentiment. He condemned the incident and the misconduct of the government. He also objected and voiced his grave concern on the government’s intervention in the Pashupatinath Bagmati ritual program where the national anthem was asked to be played.

Sharad Chandra Dahal from the World Hindu Federation’s renaissance campaign said that it is only by making Nepal a Hindu state and bringing back the King that such incidents would be prevented in the future. He also pointed out at a possible conspiracy to malign the entire campaign.

General Secretary of the World Hindu Federation of Nepal Ganesh Neupane demanded immediate arrest of the perpetrators involved in the killing of the national animal, he demanded an impartial investigation and similarly condemned government intervention in religious practices.

(Ganesh Neupane) 

Anuradha Shastri Bhatwat Wachika condemned the incident and spoke about the benefits of cows in the Hindu way of life, the numerous benefits that we take including oxygen that it provides. She also demanded strict action against the guilty.

(Anuradha Shastri Bhatwat Wachika)

Various concerns were raised during the interaction and press conference at the Reporters Club. The committee believes that the government is not genuinely concerned to take action against the culprits of this incident. They similarly raised questions on the ability of the government given its past track record. “It is doubtful that the government will investigate and prosecute the culprits. Since the Nirmala Pant case and also the recent Salikram Pudasaini suicide, the government has not been able to take stringent action or even complete investigation to bring out the truth, so we do not think this case too will receive attention, we call unanimously for tougher action”.

The committee alleged that the present government has been continuously attacking the way of life and culture of the Hindu religion one after another. It objected the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai’s decision to play the national anthem on the premises of the Pashupatinath Temple during the religious ritual of the Bagmati Ganga Aarti, it is an intervention unnecessary because the tradition and rituals are in accordance with Vedic times which is extremely sacred. The committee also further stated in its press release that ” in religion, culture, and tradition it has its own rite of passage, and there is no space for political laws. It is the government trying to intervene in the Hindu way of life and culture”.

The committee is planning to organize many protest programs starting from the 5^th of September if the government does not heed to their demands, or takes them lightly. It also plans to organize ceremonies and increase agitation if the government is slow toward meeting the demands of an impartial investigation and punishment to the guilty.