“Police Should Go After Criminals, Not Cows": Karnataka High Court Criticizes Police

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has sharply criticised police for registering a theft case against a family two years after the alleged disappearance of cows, with Justice M. Nagaprasanna pointedly observing that police should be pursuing real criminals — not cows.

M.K. Dhodi police in Ramanagara district registered a case against four family members in 2026 over the disappearance of cows in 2024. Expressing serious concern over the two-year delay, the court stayed all further proceedings on the FIR.

Justice Nagaprasanna was unsparing in his criticism: "Real crimes don't get registered. People have to knock on police station doors a hundred times to get a genuine crime recorded. Yet here, a case was filed over two missing cows from two years ago. Years after the alleged incident, with the cattle still not found, an entire family has been dragged into criminal proceedings."

The court's remarks underscore a broader concern about selective policing — where cases with communal or political undercurrents are pursued with alacrity while genuine complaints from ordinary citizens are routinely ignored