On Tuesday (May 17), the headmistress of a government school was arrested for bringing beef to school and distributing it among her colleagues. The incident took place at the Hurkachungi Middle English School in the Goalpara district of Assam.
As per reports, the accused has been identified as 56-year-old Dalima Nessa. On Saturday (May 14), the woman carried beef for lunch and served it to some of the staff members on the occasion of the annual Gunotsav evaluation of the school.
In the annual Gunotsav evaluation programme in Assam, the schools are evaluated by an external official. The official can be from any department in the state government, including the ministers. The external visitor spends the whole day in the allotted school, interacts with students and teachers, and submit a report on the school including improvements needed. As part of this scheme, an external official had visited the Hurkachungi Middle English School on Saturday. On that day, the mid day meal workers of the school had prepared a special feast for all the staff of the school, including the external official.
On this occasion, headmistress Dalima Nessa had brought beef to the school that she had cooked in her home. She handed over the beef to the Mid Day meal workers, and asked it to be distributed along with the lunch. However, the staff workers, who are Muslims themselves, objected to it, and when other staff members of the school came to known about it, they were also unhappy over it. They felt that distributing beef in the school, which have students and teachers from various communities, will hamper the communal harmony in the school as well as in the region. Accordingly, they informed the matter to the school committiee.
Subsequently, a complaint was registered at the local police by the school management committee, following which Dalima was questioned by the cops on Sunday (May 15). A day later, she was booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different religions) and 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings).
The accused was arrested on Tuesday (May 17) and produced before a local court on Wednesday (May 18). She was then sent to judicial custody.
Accused not booked under Assam Cattle Preservation Act
While speaking about the matter to The Indian Express, a police officer remarked, “The school management committee said that she had brought beef to school for lunch, and was serving it to some members of the staff, which created a sense of discomfort among them.”
He emphasised how the incident upset the religious sentiments of both communities in the school. According to Additional Superintendent of Police (Goalpara) Mrinal Deka, an investigation is underway in the case.
“The provisions of Assam Cattle Preservation Act were not applied in this case as there is no sale of beef or slaughter of cattle involved,” he emphasised.
Cow protection law in Assam
In July last year, the Assam Vidhan Sabha enacted the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021. The law banned the sale and purchase of beef and beef products in areas where Hindu, Sikh, Jain and other non-beef-eating communities are in higher concentration.
Also, the law restricted the sale of such products within a radius of 5 KM of any temple or Sattra. It aimed to regulate the slaughter, consumption, and illegal transportation of cattle in the State.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier pointed out that the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950 did not have sufficient legal provisions to regulate the slaughter, consumption and transportation of cattle.
