Devanagere district of Karnataka has witnessed a strange case of buffaloes these days. Two villages in the district, Kunibelakere and Kulagatte, are competing for a buffalo dedicated to a temple and worshiped by many devotees.

The police have been involved and are carrying out a DNA test to find out the real owner of the buffalo. The two villages are 40 km apart. Meanwhile, police took custody of the buffalo at a goshala in Shivamogga.

Not a first case

This is not the first time that these villages in Karnataka are fighting over a buffalo. In 2021, a buffalo was dedicated to Kariyamma Devi, the chief deity of Kunibelakere village. In the neighboring village of Belakere, a buffalo was found along with a cattle missing from the village of Kulagatte.

Therefore, the villagers of Kulagatte took the buffalo claiming to be its owners. One of the villagers, Madappa Rangannavar, also claimed that he had been missing for two months.

The villagers of Kunibelakere also demanded their rights over the buffaloes. This led to a battle between the two villages which prompted the police to intervene.

The fight was not only over ownership of the animal, but also over its age. Kunibelakere villagers claimed he was eight years old while Kulagatte villagers claimed he was three years old. After examining the buffalo, doctors said it was more than six years old. This cemented the Kunibelakere villagers’ claim, but it was contested by Kulagatte village.

However, Kunibelakere villagers filed a complaint of theft, naming seven people from Kulagatte village as culprits and demanded a DNA test. To support their claim, the villagers of Kunibelakere said that they had buffalo offspring.

The matter reached the Davanagere SP office, according to Dander Tippesh, a resident of Kunibelakere. Further, SP Vijaykumar Santosh attested that DNA samples had been obtained and the matter would be resolved after receiving the test results.