BHOPAL: The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday sealed the Jehangirabad slaughterhouse after a forensic report confirmed that a seized container truck was carrying prohibited meat.
The action follows an incident on December 17, when members of a right-wing group intercepted a container truck loaded with meat near the Police Headquarters in the Jehangirabad police station area. The truck was found to be carrying 26.5 tonnes of meat, which the activists alleged was banned and being transported for supply outside the state and possibly abroad. The group staged a protest on Thursday after the forensic report was made public.
Police seized the container and the meat packets and sent samples to the forensic laboratory at the Veterinary College in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The report, received on Wednesday, confirmed that the meat was from a cow or its progeny, which is prohibited under law.
Following the confirmation, Jehangirabad police registered a case against the slaughterhouse operator, the truck driver and others involved in the transport of the meat.
Truck intercepted at night
According to police, the container truck, bearing a Uttar Pradesh registration number, was intercepted late on the night of December 17 near the Mahila Thana area. The activists alleged that the banned meat was sourced from the Jinsi municipal slaughterhouse and distributed to various parts of the country and abroad.
Police reached the spot after receiving information and seized the container along with the meat packets. Veterinary doctors from the Jehangirabad Veterinary Hospital collected samples, which were then sent to the Mathura forensic lab for examination.
Investigations later established that the seized consignment was linked to the BMC-operated Jinsi slaughterhouse, prompting the civic body to seal the facility. Police said further investigation is ongoing.
A case has been registered under Sections 4, 5 and 9 of the Madhya Pradesh Cow Slaughter Prohibition Act, 2004, and Section 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
