📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Information and Public Relations Department, Gover
Agriculture
Bihar IPS Orders DNA Test to Resolve Buffalo Ownership Dispute
✍️ Amar Ujala · Bihar
🗓 26 Aug 2026, 12:37 PM
👁 4
The Indian Police Service officer in Bihar has ordered a DNA analysis of a buffalo to settle a contested ownership claim, marking an unusual use of forensic science in agricultural disputes.
A heated dispute over the ownership of a buffalo erupted in a rural area of Bihar, with two parties each asserting legal rights to the animal. The disagreement escalated to the point where local authorities were called in to mediate.
In an unprecedented move, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer overseeing the case directed that a DNA test be performed on the buffalo. The order aims to establish the animal's lineage and, by extension, its rightful owner, leveraging forensic techniques rarely applied to livestock matters.
The DNA sample will be collected by veterinary officials and sent to a certified forensic laboratory in Patna. Officials expect preliminary results within a few weeks, after which the court will use the findings to adjudicate the ownership claim.
If the test confirms one party's claim, it could set a precedent for using scientific evidence in future agricultural property disputes across the state, potentially reducing protracted legal battles over livestock.
In an unprecedented move, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer overseeing the case directed that a DNA test be performed on the buffalo. The order aims to establish the animal's lineage and, by extension, its rightful owner, leveraging forensic techniques rarely applied to livestock matters.
The DNA sample will be collected by veterinary officials and sent to a certified forensic laboratory in Patna. Officials expect preliminary results within a few weeks, after which the court will use the findings to adjudicate the ownership claim.
If the test confirms one party's claim, it could set a precedent for using scientific evidence in future agricultural property disputes across the state, potentially reducing protracted legal battles over livestock.