The chief veterinary officer in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh has been suspended after he issued an order posting a different veterinarian for every day of the week to look after the cow of the district magistrate.
On June 9, S.K. Tiwari had issued an order in which names of seven veterinarians were mentioned for duty on seven days of the week. The letter had read, “The duty of the veterinarians is to be from morning till evening…In addition, the deputy veterinary officer shall be informed every morning and evening till 6 pm about the condition of the cow”. The letter had also warned that any kind of laxity in the task would be “unpardonable”.
As per initial reports, the pet cow of Fatehpur District Magistrate Apurva Dubey had not been keeping well. Dubey is an IAS officer of the 2013 batch and her husband is posted as the DM of Kanpur.
After the letter went viral, attracting scorn and criticism from social media users, Dubey came out with a statement denying that she had anything to do with the order.
“I have no cows. No one in my family has any cows. This letter does not have my sanction”, she said.
According to Dubey, over the last few months, owing to the intense heat, she has been ensuring that cows in shelters get appropriate and timely feed. “Both the chief veterinary officer and his deputy have been found guilty of negligence and I have also taken action against them. This letter shows their polluted mindset and is part of a conspiracy,” she said.
Dubey said when she examined the internal register of the CVO’s office, it was found that a subsequent letter recalling the order of posting of doctors was made. However, that letter was not given the publicity that the previous one had received.
Dubey said she had also come to know about the letter through Twitter. “I have been serving here for one-and-a-half years. It is rather surprising how such a letter made a sudden appearance,” she said.
Dubey had recommended suspension of the CVO and the same was put into effect on Sunday.
