Chandigarh: Mare’s carcass lying in hospital for two days as police fail to resolve issue of jurisdiction

Billoo was owned by Prem Kumar Chuhan, and his carcass is now lying in the mortuary of the UT Veterinary Hospital in Sector 38.

Written by Saurabh Prashar

Chandigarh | March 21, 2020 08:51 PM IST

3 min read

Billoo, the mare

THE CARCASS of three-year old Billoo, a mare of Nukra breed, is waiting to get its postmortem examination for the last two days as Chandigarh and Mohali police fail to resolve the issue of jurisdiction to find out under who’s supervision will the autopsy be held. Billoo was owned by Prem Kumar Chuhan, and his carcass is now lying in the mortuary of the UT Veterinary Hospital in Sector 38.

“Billoo was pregnant, but she developed some complications. I rushed her to a government veterinary hospital at Ballongi, Mohali, on March 16. A doctor treated her, gave injections and asked us to take her at home. Two days later, there was profuse bleeding from her rectum. I rushed her to Veterinary Hospital, Sector 38. Doctors there concluded that she was badly treated earlier and had developed the problem of rectal prolapse. Within minutes, my mare died. I stressed for a postmortem examination but doctors expressed their inability to conduct it without legal formalities. Since then I have been running around. I went to PS 24 only to hear that the jurisdiction of my house is under PS Maloya. I approached PS Maloya and police officers there told me to go to Balongi police station in Mohali. I went to PS Balongi only to again be returned to PS Maloya,” said Prem Kumar Chauhan.

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Chauhan, a resident of Sector 25, added, “Since March 16, I have not spent a single moment calmly. As two days have passed, veterinary doctors have been pressurising me to take away the body of mare giving the reference of COVID-19. I have visited the police station thrice in the last 48 hours but all vain. “ Chauhan had purchased Billoo after paying Rs 1.35 lakh to a trader at ab animal fair in Amritsar in November, 2019. He and his son, Amit Chuhan, used to earn their livelihood by using the mare in marriages and other functions.

“I advised Prem Kumar Chauhan to contact Mohali police officers at PS Balongi because his mare was under treatment in Mohali. Even I talked to the SHO PS Balongi in the favour of Chauhan. Legally, it is the matter of Mohali police jurisdiction because the mare was treated there,” said DSP Malak Goyal, SHO (training) of PS Maloya.

However, SHO PS Balongi of Mohali police, Inspector Amardeep Singh, said, “It is the jurisdiction of Chandigarh Police. I agree that the mare was being treated at Balongi but it died in Chandigarh. According to rules, it is the responsibility of area police to get the postmortem examination of animal done. I listened to Prem Kumar patiently and advised him to approach UT cops.”

Dr Kanwarjit Singh, Veterinary Officer of UT Animal Husbandry wing, said, “We are bound with rules. Until the police does not come, we can not perform the postmortem exam. If it gets delayed, we will declare it an abandoned/stray animal and will compete the final proceedings.”