Gujarat man sentenced to 3 years in jail for possessing beef
SURAT: A local court in Gandevi taluka of Navsari district sentenced a man to three years imprisonment for possessing beef. Judicial magistrate first class C Y Vyas on Friday sentenced Rafik Illyas bhai Khalifa (35) to three years in jail and also imposed a fine of Rs10,000 on him, while convicting him under relevant sections of the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2011. Notably, keeping, buying, selling or transporting beef or beef products is banned in Gujarat.
Public prosecutor M N Vasava said, “The man was found possessing 40kg beef and this was proved during his and panch members’ cross-examination. We demanded an exemplary punishment and are happy at the judgment.” The judge observed that, “Cow is associated with the religious sentiment of a community. So committing such a crime threatens peace in the society. If the accused is given jail term, others will refrain from committing such a crime. The plea of the defence that the court should be lenient because the accused was from a poor financial background, was not justified.”
Rafik, a resident of Devda village in Gandevi taluka, was arrested on October 8, 2014, after two members of a cow protection group caught him transporting two bags containing 20kg beef each, on his motorcycle. The beef was estimated to be worth Rs4,000. Gandevi police, which filed the FIR, had got the samples tested at a forensic science laboratory (FSL) which confirmed them as beef. The accused was booked under sections 6(B)(1)(2)(3) and 8(4) of Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2011 and sections 429 (causing mischief by killing animals) and 114 (abettor present when offence committed) of the IPC. However, the court held him guilty only under sections of the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2011.
Meanwhile, another accused, Hanif Yusufbhai Mamniyat, a butcher arrested in connection with the same case, was acquitted by the court for want of evidence against him.
