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ALWAR/JAIPUR: The village where 51 cows were reportedly taken away from a Muslim family, were kept by Alwar police in a gaushala that belongs to local BJP leader Shrikishan Gupta.

Meo vilage leaders on Sunday alleged that the police acted under influence of Gupta, the upa-pradhan of Kishangarh-Bas Panchayat Samiti, in snatching the cows and handing them to his gaushala at Bambora. 45-year-old dairy farmer Subba Khan is awaiting the release of his cows.

However, Gupta refuted the charge that the police acted under his influence. "One cow died on Sunday, while another is critical," Gupta told TOI. "Police brought all these cows to my gaushala. I will wait for the official order from local police or SDM to release these," he said. "Khan will have to pay Rs 200 per day per cow towards fodder and maintenance since October 3," he told TOI.

On the other hand, the Meo Panchayat said it will meet Alwar collector and district SP on Monday to demand immediate release of Khan's cows. The Panchayat said it will lodge an FIR against those who forcibly took the cows. "We will meet senior officials on Monday and will demand release of cows as also the suspension of Kishangarh-Bas SHO who is working at the behest of BJP leaders," said Sher Mohammad of Meo Panchayat.

Khan said that after the TOI report on Sunday, the Kishangarh-Bas police telephoned him and asked him come to the police station for ‘negotiations’. In a post on a Whatsapp group on October 3, Gupta labelled Khan as a “cow smuggler” and thanked SHO Rathore for rescuing the cows.

