Cattle rescue amid floods takes turn for the worse

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, August 20

A man’s claimed attempt of having rescued cattle stuck in the Beas amidst floods in Sultanpur Lodhi has ended in a controversy after the actual owners of the cattle in turn levelled charges against him. The rescuer also alleged that his pregnant wife was detained for several hours at the Kabirpur police station in Sultanpur Lodhi in the wee hours of August 19.

The Kapurthala police have, however, denied the charges. In a video that has gone viral, Gandiwind resident (presently residing at Mehtamwal Hydrabad Bet in Sultanpur Lodhi) Rajvinder Singh alleged that after he painstakingly rescued two cattle from the river amidst floods and informed the local police about it, he was unable to find the owners of the animals. Because of this, he took them to his house at Mehtamwal and from there to the Gandiwind village (his in-laws’ place) in Tarn Taran for safekeeping. Rajvinder alleged that the owners arrived at his house late at night when he was away and his pregnant wife was taken to the police station where she remained from 12 am to 4 am (August 19).

Gurdev Singh from Passan Qadim village, the owner of the cattle, said Rajvinder had the intention of stealing his animals and his wife was taken to the police station for a mere 10 minutes.

In the video, Rajvinder alleged, “It took me two hours to rescue the two cattle with a rope. I waited at the bundh, informed the Sultanpur Lodhi police, but when the owner could not be traced, I brought the cattle home. Due to non-availability of fodder, I shifted the cattle to Gandiwind village in Tarn Taran. Later, the owners called and asked me if their cattle were with us to which I replied in the affirmative. In the evening, the owners came to our village and harassed my wife. The men entered our home when my wife was alone. Our village lady sarpanch was also with them. The sarpanch held my wife by her arm and pushed her into a private car. She was taken to the police station. My wife was kept at the police station from 12 am to 4 am. There wasn’t a lady constable there to take care either.”

Gurdev Singh, resident of Passan Qadim village said, “I had left two of the cattle – a calf and a heifer — to graze at the Baupur bundh when a home trip in between took longer than expected. Upon tracing the man who took away the cattle, we contacted them and got to know that the cattle had been taken to Gandiwind. If he was not a thief, why were the cattle taken to Gandiwind? We approached the family because we believed the man would have sold the cattle by morning. The woman was at the police station for a mere 10 minutes. Then we set off to Gandiwind where the cattle were handed over to us. Our pregnant heifer also lost its calf in the commotion. We will file charges for the same.”

The SHO, Kabirpur police station, said, “The man (rescuer) has not been vouched for by any of his neighbours. His intention was to steal the cattle. The cattle owners have also pressed charges. His wife was kept at the police station for only 10 minutes.”