JAIPUR — Shyam Nagar police station officer Dalbeer Singh announced Friday that a medical examination proved the bovine head recovered from a plot in Ashokpura contained no bones, identifying it as a fake. “This issue is being used to incite emotions,” Singh told reporters, according to local accounts.

The revelation deepened a dispute that began February 9, when children in Lane No. 3 of Ashokpura spotted the head hanging near a plot owned by Satyanarayan Sharma. Residents alerted authorities, sparking outrage over what appeared to be a deliberate act against a cow, a sacred animal in Hindu tradition.

Initial police statements on February 9 quoted Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Rajrishi Raj relaying Sharma’s explanation. Sharma claimed a calf in his shed died naturally. He said Jaipur Municipal Corporation officials took the body to Hingoniya Gaushala for disposal. To comfort the bereaved cow, which had stopped producing milk, Sharma allegedly retrieved the head from the shelter and hung it where the animal could see it.

Hingoniya Gaushala officials quickly contradicted that account. The trust running the shelter denied receiving any dead calf from municipal vehicles that day.

Former Rajasthan minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, a Congress leader, dismissed the police’s dummy claim. He demanded public release of the medical report and accused investigators of shielding Sharma for political reasons. “If false medical reports are prepared, the doctors concerned will be taken to court,” Khachariyawas said.

A circulating social media video from Friday appeared to show Sharma admitting he paid 500 rupees to retrieve the head from Hingoniya. Khachariyawas cited the clip as evidence of state government interference.

Satyanarayan Sharma’s brother, former councillor Harish Kumar Sharma, pushed back. He insisted the viral video showed only a snippet of conversation. The 500 rupees went toward removing the calf carcass, Harish said. Satyanarayan was out of Jaipur when the animal died, he added. An acquaintance handled the disposal after a phone call. When the cow refused to lactate the next day, they enlisted a Harijan community member to craft a fake head. Harish said they hung it February 9 morning, after which locals escalated the matter. He denied any political ties and accused Khachariyawas’s supporters of pressuring his brother for a false confession.

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Gopal Sharma, whose Civil Lines constituency includes Ashokpura, stayed silent Friday. He promised a detailed statement later.

The clash highlights tensions over cow protection in Rajasthan, where vigilante groups often clash with authorities over suspected slaughter. Police continue their probe, but no arrests have occurred.