Panaji: Moo! A strange sound to be heard in court. And the sight of a cow that was brought to a Goa court for an identification parade was stranger still.
A large crowd gathered to witness a unique judicial proceeding in Valpoi, located about 70 km from state capital Panaji, where a cow made its appearance in a local magistrate's court.
The rusty brown bovine along with its owner was ordered to be present in the court's premises to complete the identification parade in a criminal case, filed at the Valpoi police station last year, where two men were accused of attempting to slaughter a cow.
In 2008, the police had arrested two men for stealing the cow, which they were allegedly planning to slaughter.
The cow was rescued and handed over to the owner, Mangal Desai, by the police.
"As part of today's (Saturday's) formalities the cow was brought to court, so that the two witnesses could formally identify it as the same cow which was being taken to the slaughterhouse," explained defence advocate Kala Dalal.
The cow walked to the court over a distance of 1.5 km, in a procession organised by the members of the Go Raksha Samiti (Cow Protection Committee).
"We had filed the complaint last year against the illegal slaughterhouse. We have brought the cow to court in order to take the case to its logical conclusion," Hanumant Parad, a senior member of the Samiti, told IANS.
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