Ownership fight lands goat in jail
VARANASI : A male goat had to spend the night in a police station after two people claimed ownership rights over the animal found roaming near a government-run hospital Monday afternoon.
Police said Pramila, a resident of Bhojubeer, was accompanying an ailing woman to the hospital in Kabir Chaura locality where she saw her goat that had gone missing some four months ago. Pramila claims the goat recognised her voice when she called him out and came to sit near her feet.
The woman was soon confronted by a local, Sandip Kumar, accompanied by his younger brother, who claimed the goat belonged to them and had simply strayed to the hospital’s premises, police were told.
Pramila rejected the two men’s claim over the goat.
An argument began after the brothers alleged that the two women attempted to flee with the goat in an auto that they rushed to stop and took possession of the animal.
Some police officers who were nearby tried to interven and resolve the matter but neither side was willing to let go of the animal, an officer said.
Both parties, along with the goat, then went to the Kotwali police station, where officers took possession of the goat, with instructions to the two claimants to come back with proof that the goat belongs to them.
Police hitched the goat on the station premises, making the animal spend the night there. On Tuesday, officers gave the goat to a local who has been instructed to “take care” of it until the matter is solved. They are trying to identify its true owner.
Station officer Rajesh Kumar Singh said none of the two claimants have returned since then.