Buffalo theft cases figure in assembly discussion
BARMER: As many as 310 buffaloes went missing in Rajasthan in 2019 and only 89 of them could be recovered, according to an Assembly reply.
Independent MLA Sanyam Lodha asked a starred question in the second session of Rajasthan Assembly about theft of buffaloes. The home department has recently replied to it.
Lodha, who is supporting the Congress government in the state and is an MLA from Sirohi, asked - how many cases of buffalo thefts were registered in the state in 2019 and how many buffaloes were recovered? He also asked if it was true that buffaloes worth Rs 1 crore were stolen in Shivdaspura police station area.
The home department said in 2019, 132 cases of buffalo theft were registered across the state in which 310 buffaloes had been stolen. In Shivdaspura police station, 9 cases of buffalo theft were registered for theft of 16 buffaloes. These bovines were worth Rs 4.2 lakh. In Lodha’s constituency, police registered only one case which was found false during investigation.
Lodha, who has been a Congress MLA from Sirohi in 2008-2013, turned rebel when the party denied him ticket in 2018 assembly election. He contested as an Independent and won. After his election, he announced his support for the Ashok Gehlot-led government.
Asked why he wanted details of theft of buffaloes,
Lodha said that he raised the issue in the Assembly because police did not take theft of buffaloes seriously. “They either don’t register a case or don’t do proper investigation,” he said.
The state government’s reply – that it recovered 89 buffaloes out of 310 that were stolen – proved the lackadaisical attitude of police.
“Many locals have told me that when they went to the police after their buffaloes were stolen, the police did not register case. I decided to raise the issue in the Assembly because of the number of complaint I got,” the MLA said.