Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA demands transfer of Khandwa collector who invoked NSA for cow slaughter, calls move 'unjustified'

Bhopal/Khandwa: A Congress MLA has written to Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, demanding the setting up of an SIT and transfer of the Khandwa district collector for invoking the National Security Act (NSA) on three persons accused of cow slaughter. Bhopal Central MLA Arif Masood, in his letter sent on Friday, termed the NSA move as “one-sided”, adding that the kin of the three accused had met him and had alleged that the collector had not heard their side. He said cow slaughter was “shameful” but reiterated that the collector’s move to invoke the stringent NSA was unjustified. [caption id=“attachment_4509387” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] He demanded constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case and the collector’s transfer in order to have a “fair” probe. Masood said, “I have written to the chief minister and urged him to intervene in the matter. The action taken by police and district officials was on the basis of information given by an informer. The side of the accused should have been heard before invoking NSA.” Masood claimed minority community leaders from different parts of the country have also spoken to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in this regard. Earlier last week, authorities had slapped NSA on three accused, identified as Shakeel, Nadeem and Azam, for allegedly killing a cow at Khandwa, and jailed. Justifying the action, Khandwa Superintendent of Police Siddharth Bahuguna had said Nadeem, alias Raju, was a habitual offender and had been held earlier in a cow slaughter case as well as other criminal cases. Khandwa is a communally sensitive area and such an incident might affect its peace and harmony and therefore, he had said, such a move was made against the three. According to Moghat Police Station in charge Mohan Singore, acting on a tip-off that a few persons were indulging in cow slaughter, a team raided Kharkali village near here on February 1. While the accused fled from the spot, a large knife and beef was seized from there, he said. The three were arrested on February 2 and Khandwa collector Vishesh Gadpale later invoked NSA against them, Singore had informed.