A bullock cart owner in Telangana was booked by the police and fined Rs 100 in court after his ox urinated in front of an office of the state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), in Bhadradri Kothagudem district. Sundarlal Lodh, a farmer, was reportedly protesting against the denial of compensation for his land acquired by the company. CCTV footage shows the farmer stopping his bullock car in front of the main gate of the SCCL general manager's office in Yellandu.
During the protest by Suderlal Lodh, one of the oxen urinated on the road in front of the office. On a complaint lodged by an SCCL official, Yellandu police booked a case against Sundarlal and his family for public nuisance under Section 290 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The company official alleged that when security personnel stopped the farmer and his family, they started abusing and refused to leave the place. Sundarlal was produced in front of the special judicial magistrate in Yellandu, who imposed a fine of Rs 100 on him.
Sundarlal and his family questioned the action of the authorities. The farmer said he did not make the ox urinate in front of the office on purpose. "How is this justified? In the municipality, people urinate in public but nobody fines them and here they have imposed a fine for an ox urinating," Sundarlal's daughter Manasi said.
The farmer alleged that his land was acquired by the company in 2005 but he was not paid compensation for the same. The company, however, claimed that compensation was paid to the pattadar or the title holder through the government as per law. SCCL officials say the farmer's petition was also dismissed by the courts but he had continued protests.