Around 300 cows being taken to Dailekh from Nepalgunj have been pushed over the cliff in the Katkuwa jungle of Birendranagar.
Twenty-two of the cows have been found dead in the jungle while many more are injured.
The 291 bovines taken to Dailekh from Nepalgunj-based Kanji House (temporary shelter for the stray cattle) were pushed over the cliff by unknown persons Thursday night. It is yet to be known who the custodians of the cows were.
"We are finding out the details. The cows were taken to Dailekh after filing application with us. I don't exactly remember who had sought permission. The municipality should be asked for that," Mayor of Nepalgunj Sub-metropolitan City Dhawal Shumsher Rana said.
The cows have been pushed over the cliff by the road inside the jungle that lies between wards 4, 7 and 14 of Birendranagar municipality.
ASI at the Subbakuna Check-post in Birendranagar Pramod Singh Thakuri said the cows were ferried in eight trucks Thursday night. Four of those trucks were trying to return to Nepalgunj at midnight.
The trucks have been kept at the District Police Office, Surkhet.
