Buffalo Follows Owner Home And Resolves Ownership Dispute!

To resolve the dispute over the ownership of a buffalo, the Pratapgarh police resorted to an age-old method of leaving the decision to the bovine itself after several hours of panchayat failed to resolve the issue.

Police returned the buffalo to its owner after tracking it while it was left unattended on the road.

The other complainant was reprimanded by the police and villagers.

The case involved Nandlal Saroj, a resident of Rai Askaranpur village under Maheshganj police in Pratapgarh district. His buffalo had gone missing a few days ago and strayed to Purey Harikesh village, where one Hanuman Saroj allegedly caught it. Hanuman refused to hand over the buffalo to Nandlal, who finally traced the animal after three days of frantic search. Nandlal then approached the police officers at Maheshganj police station and lodged a complaint against Hanuman Saroj.

The police summoned the two complainants to the police station on Thursday. However, despite a meeting lasting several hours on the subject, both continued to claim that the buffalo belonged to them.

The SHO of Maheshganj police station, Shravan Kumar Singh, then found a way to resolve the conflict.

Singh announced before the panchayat that the decision should be left to the buffalo itself. The buffalo will be left alone on the road and the person it follows will be declared its owner. The villagers also accepted the decision and Nandlal and Hanuman were asked to stand in opposite directions on the road leading to their villages.

The police then released the buffalo from the police station and it took the road straight to Rai Askaranpur village following Nandlal. As per the order, the buffalo was handed over to Nandlal. Hanuman Saroj, who was still opposing the order, was reprimanded by the police and villagers. SHO Shravan Kumar Singh said that following the complaint, an inquiry was conducted. The buffalo itself was returned to its owner, he added.