Mumbai: In the first case registered under the newly amended law banning beef in Maharashtra, three men have been booked, two of them arrested and produced before a local court today in Malegaon, 104km from Nashik.
The third accused is yet to be apprehended.
A police officer at Azad Nagar police station, Malegaon, told Gulf News on telephone that the two arrested men, Mohammad Rashid Mohammad Akhtar and Abdul A. Mohammad Isaac, have been remanded to police custody for five days.
According to the police, a team raided an abandoned shack near a local school on a tip off in the jurisdiction of Azad Nagar police station in this textile town.
The police found two slaughtered calves and seized 150kg of beef after the accused fled. Some of the meat had already been distributed. “We have sent the sample of the meat to Mumbai for laboratory tests,” the police official said.
The three men have been booked under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, which was passed by the state government on March 4, 2015. Under the amended law, even the slaughter of bulls, calves and bullocks is a criminal offence carrying a punishment up to five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs10,000 (Dh600).
The slaughter of cattle has been banned in the state since 1976. The bill was initially introduced when the Shiv Sena and BJP were in power in the mid-90s and has been pending until now.
The town, with a predominantly Muslim population, used to supply a large quantity of beef to other towns and cities.
A majority of Hindus do not consume beef but it is commonly eaten by Muslims, Christians, Dalits and other communities.
It is also a cheap source of protein for those who cannot afford the far more expensive lamb or mutton. Beef traders have complained that the new law would lead to smuggling of beef into the state. Moreover, it has already affected the livelihoods of many involved in the beef trade.
