Bhopal, Jan 21 (PTI) Bajrang Dal members on Wednesday protested outside Bhopal Mayor Malti Rai’s residence over the recent seizure of beef in the city, and blackened her photo and nameplate, accusing civic authorities of trying to shield cow smugglers.
During the protest, Bajrang Dal workers also raised slogans against mayor Rai, who is a leader from the ruling BJP, and demanded her resignation.
According to officials, a truck carrying nearly 26.5 tons of meat was intercepted near the police headquarters in the Jahangirabad police station area on the night of December 17. Initially, it was claimed to be buffalo meat, but a test at a government laboratory in Mathura concluded that the seized meat was from cow or its progeny, they said.
Amid ongoing protests over the matter, Bhopal Police Commissioner Harinarayanchar Mishra has formed a Special Investigation Team, headed by an ACP-level officer, to investigate the case. He said strict action would be taken based on the facts that emerge.
Since the matter came to light, Hindutva organisations have been protesting, with the opposition Congress also targeting the government over it and demanding that the places belonging to the culprits be bulldozed.
Bajrang Dal member Abhijeet Singh Rajput, who led the protesters, told PTI Videos that Bhopal Municipal Corporation was trying to cover up the matter despite the seizure of over 26 tons of beef.
He alleged that cows were being killed in the slaughterhouse under the protection of the mayor and the municipal corporation. “That’s why we are protesting and demanding the mayor’s resignation,” he said.
Rajput said not just their nameplate, “such people should be garlanded with shoes and their faces blackened”.
Madhya Pradesh’s Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and in-charge minister of Bhopal district, Chaitanya Kashyap, said a detailed investigation has been launched and an FIR has been registered against the city’s slaughterhouse operator.
He said footage from CCTV cameras installed inside the slaughterhouse has also been seized and that no one will be spared.
Meanwhile, a group of Congress leaders visited the slaughterhouse and demanded a thorough investigation into the beef matter. State Congress general secretary Amit Sharma alleged that while the main front gate of the slaughterhouse was shown sealed, the back door was found open.
“This clearly indicates that immoral and illegal activities were being conducted through the back door, misleading the administration,” he claimed. The personal vehicles of slaughterhouse operator Aslam Qureshi and the civic body were found parked outside, he said.
The incident was the result of administrative negligence and possible collusion between the slaughterhouse operator and officials, he claimed.
Qureshi and a driver have been arrested in this case, while the municipal corporation has suspended nine employees, including a veterinary doctor, and issued notices to three others, seeking their responses, according to officials. PTI MAS NR
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