11 cows run over by train as farmers 'push' them towards rail track in Uttar Pradesh

In the long line of bizarre incidents surrounding cows in India, a herd of two dozen stray cows were run over by a train after they were reportedly "pushed" towards a railway track by a group of farmers in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday morning.

Eleven of these cows died on spot while the rest sustained major injuries. Locals claimed that this was done by a group of farmers enraged by the cows destroying their crops in the farms near the Aligarh-Moradabad track.

The incident was reported from Lahravan village under the supervision of Bahjoi police station. Officials reported that a speeding Dehradun Express hit the cows and it resulted in the train being delayed by an hour.

The village has a significant population of farmers and the residential area is 500 metres away from the railway tracks. Complaints of stray cattle menace from various regions with UP has been a consistent phenomena, which causes crop destruction, road accidents and farmer distress -farmers have repeatedly demanding government action.

Shortly following the incident, right wing activists staged a protest in the village and demanded action against the farmers.

Times of India quoted a local right-wing 'cow vigilante' saying: "Over a dozen similar incidents have been reported from this this area in the past two months where cows died after being pushed onto the railway tracks. Locals tried to hide this incident, too, but our 'gau rakshak' Bunty Kumar gave us the information and we informed sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Chandausi Ramkesh Dhama, a veterinarian, and Bahjoi station house officer (SHO) about it. We have given a written complaint, demanding an FIR for the deaths of the cows."

"This is the third such incident near this village in a fortnight and we have asked police to identify whether it was an accident or someone is deliberately killing the cattle in this manner. Strict action will be taken if someone is found guilty. We will be writing to the railways to check the speed limit of trains in this stretch and take other necessary steps to prevent such incidents," said Dhama.

This incident comes a week after UP Police arrested 120 people in alleged cow smuggling and cow slaughter cases in Bareilly.