Gujarat Court Jails Three Men Life for 277‑kg Beef Slaughter

The arrest followed a Kalol police raid in August 2024 at a Dhankniwas house in Jamla village, where officers seized a 277‑kg cache of beef, sharp cutting tools, and transport vehicles.

The Gujarat Animal Preservation Act, passed in 2015, classifies cow slaughter as a criminal offence punishable by life imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹3 lakh. The act has been invoked in nine cases since 2018.

Sessions Judge BR Rajput, in his judgment, invoked ancient shlokas to emphasize the sanctity of cattle, calling the accused ‘defectors of duty’ and underscoring that protecting cattle aligns with ‘duty, compassion, and truth’.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi praised the court’s decision on X, stating that the verdict is a ‘clear message that the law will never spare those who commit cow slaughter in Gujarat.’ Police officer from Gandhinagar police said the recovered cattle were transferred to a local shelter.

The sentence will now be carried out by the state prison system, and each offender must pay a fine of ₹3 lakh. The decision signals the state’s hard‑line stance against animal cruelty and may prompt further enforcement actions across the district.