J&K Police has worked out a cattle theft case registered in the jurisdiction of Police Station Ramgarh, arrested thief and recovered stolen cattle from his possession.
On 26.04.2024, a written complaint was lodged at Police Station Ramgarh by one Hans Raj S/o Dass Ram R/o Swankha tehsil Ramgarh district Samba regarding theft of his cattle from the cattle shed by some unknown person.
Acting over the complaint, a case FIR No. 36/2024 U/S 379 IPC was registered at Police Station Ramgarh and investigation started.
During the course of investigation, police team of PS Ramgrah rounded up one suspect namely Asif Malik S/o Mohd Rafeeq R/o Jhang tehsil Ramgarh district Samba. During sustained questioning, the said accused confessed his involvement in the instant case. Further on his disclosure, stolen cattle has been recovered.
Cattle theft, more commonly cattle raiding or cattle lifting, is a property crime in India. In the ancient and medieval era India texts, stealing cattle is described as a crime and sin, a motif that appears in Hindu mythologies.
In the colonial and postcolonial eras, it has been a common crime but one marked with contradictions. According to David Gilmartin, the crime of cattle theft was perceived by the colonial-era British officials as a “potential political danger” that threatened “to corrupt the whole structure of the administration, for its pervasiveness threatened to undercut the position of the state as the protector and legal guarantor of the individual as a productive owner of revenue-producing property”. In contemporary times, the demand for meat has led to cattle becoming a target of mass-theft.
Cattle looting is mentioned as a form of warfare among pastoral peoples in the history of India. Competitive raiding a means to show prowess by youth and community solidarity in colonial era Punjab.
