The Metropolitan Police Circle, Bouddha on Sunday arrested four individuals on the charge of slaughtering an ox.

They have been identified as Milan Syangtan, Bikram Syangtan, Man Bahadur Lama and Dev Bahadur Bomjan. According to the circle, the four were caught from Kathmandu Metropolitan City-6, Tinchuli, at around 2:30am on Sunday.

“A team of the circle patrolling at midnight arrested the four individuals from a plotting area near Naag Mandir of Tinchuli. The group had already slaughtered the ox and had started separating the meat for distribution,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Narendra Chand, in-charge of the circle, told the Post.

Clause 289 of Section 27 of the Criminal Code-2017 prohibits the slaughter of cow and oxen. If found guilty, an individual must serve 3 years in jail.

However, various communities, mostly indigenous, complain that banning cow/ox slaughter infringes upon their religious freedom and cultural rights while threatening the secular nature of the state.

The Constitution of Nepal (2015) defines Nepal as a secular state. It recognises cow as the national animal.

“On one hand, we are a secular state and a secular state should not prohibit the killing of any animal under the influence of a particular religious belief. On the other hand, cow being the national animal, the government can impose a ban on slaughtering it and its male,” a senior advocate told the Post on the condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the matter.

According to police, the arrestees are under probe to find out how long they have been involved in ox slaughtering.

“Those arrested will be presented to the Kathmandu District Court for further legal procedure,” said Chand.