The Gujarat Assembly on Friday passed a Bill that stepped up punishment for cow slaughter from 7-10 years to life imprisonment in the BJP-ruled state. The amendment bill was passed on the last day of the state assembly's budget session.
A fine of up to Rs 1 lakh could also be imposed on those found guilty of the crime, while the vehicle that was used for transportation would be permanently confiscated. The offence will likely be made cognizable and non-bailable.
The Gujarat Preservation (Amendment) Bill says, "The vehicles or any conveyance so seized under sub section (3) shall stand forfeited to government in the manner as my be prescribed. It is, however, experienced while implementing the said Act that still more stringent provisions are required to be made amending the said Act for curbing the menace of illegal slaughtering of the animals covered under the said Act to provide for more stringent punishment and effectively check the rampant use of vehicles for transporting such animals."
The decision comes just ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls due in December 2017. Gujarat has now become the first state in India to make cow slaughter a punishable offence.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat in 2011, his government had amended the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act, 1954 to impose a complete ban on the slaughtering and transportation of cows and progeny in the state.
Interestingly, the BJP government at the Centre, which has consistently reiterated its stand against cow slaughter, has said that there would be no ban on beef in the three northeastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland which are slated to go to polls next year.
