Lucknow: Cow meat is not exported from Uttar Pradesh and no one can have the audacity to do so, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said today.

The UP chief minister asserted that even cruelty to a bovine could lead a person behind bars not to talk of killing cows.

This comes at a time when at least 30 children have died within 48 hours at Gorakhpur's Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College Hospital.

Professor Dr D.K. Srivastava, Head of the Department of Community Medicine, confirmed the deaths.

"15 infants were younger than one month. Six of the remaining 15, who were older than a month, passed away due to encephalitis. Others died due to various other reasons," Srivastava told ANI.

On October 24, reports also emerged that 68 children had died in the BRD Hospital in 4 days.

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Out of the 68 deaths, 48 of them took place in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and 24 of them died in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Encephalitis patients are usually treated in the NICU and PICU wards.

Yogi Adityanath and his government have come under heavy fire from all sides for the terrible health condition and resources in a constituency he has represented five times in the Lok Sabha. The mahant-politician has faced flak for focusing on bovine welfare while infants are facing severe health issues in the state.

Again, it must be noted that Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are at the bottom of a new Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI) prepared by Plan India, while Goa, Kerala and Mizoram occupy the top three positions.

Addressing an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Gauraksha Vibhag (cow protection wing), Adityanath said, "It is absolutely wrong and incorrect to say that the largest volume of cow meat is exported from Uttar Pradesh. Not an iota of cow meat can be exported from UP. No one can have the audacity of doing so, as it is banned in UP."

Adityanath said that his was the first government in the state to put a ban on illegal abattoirs.

"If any person indulges in cruelty to cows (leave aside talk of killing of cows), he will find himself behind bars," Adityanath, a priest-turned-politician, said.

Grazing land for cattle has been identified in UP and we have initiated drives to free encroached grazing land, he said.

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On October 22, a couple from Switzerland was attacked by a mob in Agra when they stopped some people from taking selfies with them.

Quentin Jeremy Clerc, 24, and his girlfriend Marie Droz, also 24, who had come to India on September 30, were chased and attacked with stones and sticks by the group.

Five people were arrested in connection with the Agra attack.

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A few days ago, news also emerged of a woman being burnt alive because she resisted a rape attempt in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh.

The 27-year-old, a widow, was allegedly attacked by her brother-in-law who tried to force himself upon her when she was alone at her house in Labhari.

The man then set her ablaze.

She later succumbed to injuries.

The woman's father has lodged a complaint and a search has been launched to arrest the accused, Jitendra.

He has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

In Baghpat, reports emerged on October 15 that a 15-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh committed suicide after being allegedly gang-raped by five people and subsequently threatened four months ago, confirmed police.

According to the complaint by the girl's mother, around four months back she was abducted by the five people. After five days, the girl was found unconscious outside Ramala police station, the police said.

When she regained consciousness, the girl said that five people had abducted her, locked her in a room and raped her, they said.

On a complaint of the girl's family that she was raped, a case was registered and the five people were arrested. But they were let off allegedly owing to pressure from their family, a police official said on the condition of anonymity.

On October 13, the same people threatened her with rape. She told her mother about it, but before they could approach the police, the girl ended her life by hanging herself, the police said.

She was then cremated. The SP said, "The old case is being investigated upon. On what basis they were let off and final report submitted will be probed."

(With inputs from PTI)