BAREILLY: Following chief minister Aditya Nath Yogi 's order to check cow smuggling and close illegal slaughterhouses in the state, a scientist at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) here has tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi , the PMO and the UP chief minister alleging that the institute sells cows to butchers.In his tweet, the scientist claimed that "of the 259 cows auctioned during 2011-2014, 186 (71.8%) were purchased by members of the minority community."Why did the premier veterinary institute sell the diseased animals? Can't these animals be treated? If they can't be treated at IVRI, where can they be? Are the administrators at IVRI not aware of the fate of such non-productive or diseased animals?" the scientist said.The scientist, Bhoj Raj Singh, head of epidemiology division at IVRI, wrote in his Facebook page that "of the 74 tharparkar (an Indian breed) of cattle auctioned at IVRI, 59 were purchased by Muslims. Of these, 51 tharparkars were sold to members of the minority community (44 of them are engaged in slaughter of animals and seven are in animal trade) and only a few to real dairy farmers." Claiming that this information has been obtained from IVRI through RTI replies, Bhoj Raj Singh asked several questions in his post: "Why the cows were preferably auctioned to or purchased by a specific community? What was the purpose of selling non-productive or discarded cows or diseased cows? Is it not the duty of the organization to ensure the fate of the cows while selling them? Is it (auction) not a promotion of cow slaughter in the state where there is a total ban on cow slaughter?"Bhoj Raj Singh shared the link of his Facebook page with the PMO several times since Saturday till Wednesday. Speaking to TOI, he said, "I have tweeted to the PMO regarding the matter, and it has assured me that necessary action would be taken." Denying the allegations, director of IVRI, R K Singh, said, "We follow the guidelines of the government for public auction and for culling of animals, and the method is transparent. No diseased animal is culled. Unproductive animals are culled according to the norms. During public auction, the animal is sold to the highest bidder without considering his caste or religion. We also ask the buyers to give in writing that they will keep the animals properly." "If the PMO seeks a report from us, we will inform it that due process is followed while auctioning such animals."

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