4 caught with suspected beef, arrested

The transportation of beef came to light when VHP activist Niranjan Yamjal along with a group stopped a red Qualis car being driven by Sajid Qureshi.

”Qureshi used a BMC identity card to pass the Mulund octroi junction. When we apprehended him, he did not have any paperwork. When we asked them to show what they were carrying in the vehicle, they drove off,” Yamjal said.

The group then gave the vehicle a chase and also alerted the Vikhroli police. They managed to catch the vehicle near Kanjurmarg on the Eastern Express Highway.

On checking the contents, it was found that they were carrying meat. The police suspect the meat to be beef and have sent it for testing.

According to the police, the four claimed that the meat was being brought from Sangamner in Ahmednagar district to a meat shop in Kurla.

The Vikhroli police have registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act and the BMC Act and arrested them. The police said the four were subsequently released on bail later in the day.

The VHP members claimed that Qureshi was an employee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and had used his official identity card to clear the vehicle at the Mulund octroi check point. They claimed to have found an identity card in Qureshi’s possession in which he was designated as a cleaner in the BMCs water department. The police, however, said they had no knowledge if any of the accused was a BMC employee.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com