Gonda (UP): Two persons in their early twenties tried to create communal tension by cow slaughtering but the plans were foiled and have been arrested by the police.

The incident happened on Monday at Bhatpurwa village in Katra Bazar in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda.

According to the police, the incident was deliberate and was planned keeping in mind the Moharram procession in the village to pollute the communal atmosphere by spreading the news of cow slaughter.

Two culprits identified as Ramsevak Dixit and Mangli Dixit has been booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), police said.

The duo stolen the cow belonging to Ganesh Prasad Dixit from the latters house and slaughtered the animal in a nearby field. Locals spotted them and alerted the police whose immediate action averted major communal violence.

Superintendent of Police, Umesh Kumar Singh said “there was tension in the village, but the police reached the spot and now the situation is under control.”

According to Indian Express, Station Officer of Katra Bazar police station D P Singh said, “Around 7 pm Sunday, a 12-year-old boy spotted Ram Sevak and Mangal slaughtering a cow in a field. The boy alerted locals who ran to the spot and also informed police. People caught hold of Ram Sevak, who was drunk, while Mangal managed to escape”.

Ram Sevak has 18 criminal cases against him including murder and dacoity while Mangal Dikshit is an accused in three criminal cases, escaped, reported Indian Express.

Both belong to Bhatpura village were booked under IPC sections 295A, 153A, 505B and 3/8 of the Cow Slaughter Act and were getting interrogated to probe the conspiracy behind the cow slaughter.

PTI inputs