Shahjahanpur (UP), Dec 30 (IANS): As many as ten persons were arrested and later released for locking up a herd of stray cattle inside a primary school in Uttar Pradesh after the animals damaged standing wheat crop.

The farmers, on Wednesday, staged a protest and tried to stop the police from releasing the cattle.

The incident took place in Lehrawar village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Jalalabad police circle.

The cattle were discovered by school teachers who called the police.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Jalalabad, Kamal Singh, reached the school with his team and saw 30 stray cattle inside the school campus.

When his team attempted to open the gate, the farmers tried to stop them and demanded assurance from a senior official. The police then arrested them and later released with a warning.

A woman who was also protesting against the cattle menace, said, "We just want the stray cattle to be kept out of our village as they are destroying our crops, attacking local residents, and disturbing our lives. We cannot feed them and the government should set up a shelter house for them. We want to resolve this issue at the earliest."

Addressing the media, Kamal Singh said: "The school was opened after a delay of nearly an hour and most students attended classes thereafter. We have also requested the gram panchayat officials to shift the stray cattle to any nearby cow shelter."