‘Mewat gangrape, beef row trivial issues’

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said the Mewat double murder-cum-gangrape case and the beef controversy were “trivial issues”.

He was speaking to mediapersons here on the sidelines of an event “Swarna Jayanti” to mark 50 years of Haryana on November 1.

When asked about the beef biryani issue and CBI probe into the ganggrape case of two sisters in Mewat, Mr Khattar said, “These are trivial issues and I don’t pay much attention to these small issues. Today we should be talking about Swarna Jayanti. Collecting samples of beef biryani and double murder cum gangrape case of two sisters is not an issue according to me. These were petty issues compared to golden jubilee celebrations and could take anywhere in the country.”

A 20-year-old woman and her 14-year-old cousin were sexually assaulted by several men in their home in Mewat on August 24. Their uncle and aunt were tied up and then beaten to death. The state government had last year enacted the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gau Samvardhan Act, making cow slaughter punishable with rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine of Rs1 lakh. Ahead of Id on September 8, Haryana Cow Protection Task Force in- charge, DIG Bharti Arora, and Gau Sewa Aayog chairman Bhani Ram Mangla conducted a drive to check biryani and collected samples of it from Mewat. Later, Haryana minister Anil Vij said that all seven samples were found containing beef during testing at a laboratory in Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and the Animal Sciences in Hisar.