Kerala man booked after VHP worker alleges he 'insulted cows'

The police, however, have not made any arrest yet.

news Law

Kerala is one of the states which has vehemently opposed the politics of cow protectionism often seen in other parts of India. But the land of beef fry recently witnessed a peculiar situation when a 50-year-old man was booked in a non-bailable case for "insulting cows".

Sajan Joseph, a Congress worker in his 50s, is the man who has been booked by the Vellarikundu police in Kasaragod.

The police registered a case against Sajan under 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, language, place of birth etc) - a non-bailable section.

The case was registered after a Vishwa Hindu Parishad worker named Chandran, filed a complaint against Sajan, alleging that the latter insulted cows and therefore hurt his religious sentiments.

According to the complaint, the accused Sajan had asked Chandran, a Hindu, to stop drinking cow's milk if he worshipped ‘Gomatha’.

The brawl allegedly took place on May 28 at 8:15 am in a local tea shop where the duo engaged in an argument over politics. Chandran’s complaint alleges that Sajan had created communal disharmony through his words.

“The two of them were having a fight in a tea shop 3-4 kms away from the station. Chandran, the complainant, got enraged after Sajan asked him to stop drinking cow's milk. He was adamant that a complaint be filed and hence we lodged an FIR and are investigating the incident," the CI of Vellarikundu police station told TNM.

Another officer from the police station confirmed that the issue was one of the many tea shop brawls that break out following political disagreements.

“As per the protocol, we have to register a case and investigate if any religious sentiments were hurt. In this case, it is between a Hindu and a Christian. There were no physical fights or violent clashes after the incident. It was just a verbal disagreement. We have not recorded any arrests,” the officer said.