Buffalo owners across Singrauli district are living in constant fear as a wave of thefts refuses to let up. Over the past year, more than 100 buffaloes have been stolen from the area, and not a single one has been traced so far. The situation has grown so tense that farmers now check their cattle sheds multiple times before going to sleep each night, yet the fear never quite leaves them.
Farmers Break Down While Narrating Their Ordeal at the Collectorate
On Monday, more than a dozen villagers from Bardaghata Tola Bhalchhera arrived at the Singrauli Collectorate to lodge their complaints during an ongoing public hearing. Among them was farmer Harerarm Gurjar, who broke into tears while recounting his loss. He said all 12 of his buffaloes had been stolen, and that the loss was not just about the animals, it had wiped out his family's main source of income and the only support for his children's education. The other villagers who accompanied him shared the same anguish, each with a different story of theft but the same underlying pain. Several farmers said buffalo rearing was their primary source of livelihood, and selling milk to run their households has now become nearly impossible.
Villagers Suspect an Organised Gang Spanning Three States
Ashok Kumar Jaiswal, the sarpanch representative of Urti Gram Panchayat, who arrived at the Collectorate wearing a pink checked shirt, and Daga Prasad, an affected villager present in a blue kurti, directly questioned how the administration was handling the matter. They alleged that the thefts were not the work of small time criminals but of a large, organised inter-state gang with links stretching into Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Villagers said the police intelligence network had proven ineffective against this gang, leaving farmers to survive on nothing but paper assurances for months. They further said the thefts would not stop until this inter-state network was completely dismantled.
Police Say Special Teams Have Been Formed to Investigate
Singrauli Superintendent of Police Shijaz KM said the complaints were being taken seriously. He said special teams had been constituted to investigate the case and that some suspects had already been identified. The SP assured that the gang would soon be exposed and the stolen buffaloes recovered.
Farmers' Questions Remain Unanswered
Even as police speak of action, the questions raised by the grieving farmers remain unresolved. They ask that if the police are as alert as claimed, why has not a single thief been caught despite more than 100 buffaloes being stolen over the course of a year. Villagers are asking when and how their lost livelihood will be restored to them. For now, Singrauli's cattle owners continue to face deep uncertainty and financial hardship, with all eyes now on the next move from the police.
