‘Beef’ Seizure Found to be Bbuffalo Meat; Jalna Police Release Rs 4.34 Cr Consignment
Jalna: Meat worth Rs 4.34 billion seized from three trucks in Jalna, suspected to be beef, was confirmed to be buffalo meat after analysis by a laboratory in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, a police official said on Friday.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer Anant Kulkarni said that the consignment containing 83,988 kilograms of frozen meat was subsequently released along with three trucks.
“The meat was seized on April 1 following a tip-off from right-wing activists and a case under the Maharashtra Animal Welfare Act was registered at Chandanzira police station. Three persons, identified as Shambuprasad Prajapati, Sattyaprakash Gupta and Virenda Gupta, residents of Varanasi, were booked at that time,” another official said.
According to the police, the trucks were transporting the meat from Parbhani to Mumbai for export. The packages in the shipment had Arabic markings, indicating that they were likely to be exported to Arab countries.
SDPO Kulkarni said, “We had requested an early report from the laboratory to ensure that the meat was not spoiled. The transporter had valid documents. After verification, the containers were released within 24 hours of receiving the report.” he said.
Further action will be taken accordingly in the case, the official added.
