AJP writes to PM seeking probe into cattle smuggling in Assam

Guwahati, Aug 25 (PTI) Opposition Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order a high-level inquiry into cow smuggling cases in the state.

In a letter, AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi and general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan drew PM Modi’s attention to Assam Chief Minister's statement on the size of the cow smuggling network.

"Sarma announced that a syndicate was actively operating illegal trading and smuggling of cows in Assam. The business, according to him, was transacting up to Rs 1,000 crore in one month," the letter said.

The statement of Sarma carries weight as it came from a chief minister of the state, it added.

"The NDA government, under the stewardship of Sarbananda Sonowal, functioned in Assam from 2016-2021. In five years, the illegal cattle trading and smuggling involved a staggering amount of Rs 60,000 crore," the AJP leaders alleged in the letter.

The illegal trade and smuggling of cows on such a huge scale merit a high-level inquiry to unearth the truth and the operators, they added.

The letter to the Prime Minister alleged that since Sarma was a minister during the previous Congress governments, he might have knowledge of cattle smuggling in that period too.

"We demand that a high-level inquiry should be initiated by a sitting High Court judge to go to the bottom of the whole illegal business. The inquiry is needed to do justice to cow protection in your regime," the letter urged. PTI TR MM MM