THODUPUZHA: In a tragic incident, 13 of the 22 cattle of a 15-year-old award-winning farmer, suspiciously died on Sunday night. The 13 cows belonged to Idukki Velliyamattom native Mathew Benny’s farm. The post-mortem report states that the cause of death was due to consumption of tapioca skin. Apart from the 13 dead cows, all other cattle are undergoing treatment.

Mathew, a 15-year-old farmer, was frozen hearing the horrific news and was admitted to a nearby hospital in Moolamattom after feeling unwell. Cows were fed tapioca skins at eight o'clock on Sunday night after the family came back from the New Year party. Even before, the same fodder was fed to the cows and it invited no such troubles. After consuming the tapioca skin, the cows got exhausted on Sunday night and started falling to the ground.

Veterinarians came and administered medicine to the cattle but failed to save their lives. A post-mortem report revealed that the cause of death was the intake of Hydrocyanic acid from the tapioca skin. Five dairy cows were also among the dead. There was a loss of more than ten lakh rupees and no cows were insured. Milma gave Rs 45,000 as emergency assistance.

In October 2020, Kerala Kaumudi reported the life of Mathew, a student who took up the care of cows after the unexpected death of his dairy farmer father Benny. Minister J. Chinchu Rani sought a report from the officials of the Animal Welfare Department regarding the incident. The minister spoke to the family members on the phone and will visit them on Tuesday.