A Gujarat court has sentenced a 22-year-old man to life in prison for
smuggling a herd of cows for slaughter
, a practice banned in the northwestern Indian state.
In the text of the sentence, the magistrate Samir Vinodchandra Vyas affirms that the actions of the culprit, a Muslim, "are really unpleasant", and that "the killing of cows is the cause of many problems in the world".
The ruling was issued at the end of November, but only recently made known: the device reads that "science has proven that
cow dung defends the walls of houses from radiation
" and that "drinking cow urine heals from many incurable diseases.
These kinds of unscientific beliefs about the life-saving powers of cows continue to circulate among the Indian population, but have never before been supported in a text by a magistrate
.
The majority party supports nationalist groups campaigning for the protection of cows, and many states have laws in place to protect cows, even though the animals are often left to fend for themselves along the roads in deplorable conditions.