New Delhi/Ahmedabad: Poll-bound Gujarat has become the first state in the country to make cow slaughter punishable with life imprisonment.
The state Assembly amended on Friday the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act of 1954 in the absence of Congress MLAs who were suspended for a day for creating ruckus in the House.
The minimum punishment is 10 years. Cow slaughter is a non-bailable offence now. The Act was last amended in 2011.
Earlier, the punishment ranged from three to seven years. The new law also has a provision for ten-year imprisonment for transportation, storage or sale of beef.
The legislation, which envisages permanent forfeiture of vehicles involved in transportation of progeny of cows — calves, bulls and bullocks — and beef, bans transportation of animals from one place to another at night.
“It’s among the most stringent laws in the country,” Chief Minister Vijay Rupani tweeted.
