MP: Two men walk into police station with goat to resolve dispute over ownership

Both men staked claim on the goat on Bakrid.

A police station in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa city is trying to solve a rather unusual matter after two men walked in with a goat on Bakrid.

A dispute arose between Sanjay Khan and Shahrukh Khan after both claimed to be the owner of the two-year-old goat.

They sought the help of the police on Wednesday, when Bakrid was celebrated, after failing to end their disagreement.

Both men, in their 20s, then marched to the Civil Police station with the white and brown “bakra”, staking claim over it, said inspector Hatendra Nath Sharma.

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Sanjay said he had reared the animal but it went missing some six months ago. Shahrukh claimed he bought the goat recently for Rs 15,000 to sacrifice it on Bakrid, the official said.

“We asked both to produce evidence to buttress their claims. The next day Sanjay and Shahrukh came with pictures of a goat that looked similar to the animal in dispute, further complicating the case,” he said.

The official said they could not keep the goat in the police station as its bleating disturbed them. “We were also finding it difficult to feed the goat. So we called the local ward corporator to strike a compromise between the two,” the official said.

For now, Sanjay will keep the goat with him but both claimants have been told not to harm it in any way and they have submitted undertakings in that regard, he said.

“It appears that Sanjay lost the goat six months ago. Someone sold it to Shahrukh. You see bakras are not sold on paper so it is difficult to decide its ownership,” Sharma said.