‘Goat meat, not dog head’: Mohali momo factory mystery ‘solved’
The factory owners, Arzudeen and Joginderpal Singh, who remain at large, were booked for spreading infection and adulteration two days after the raid on the complaint of a food safety officer (FSO), with action under animal cruelty charges remaining, pending verification
What was initially suspected to be a severed dog head, during a raid at a momo-producing factory in Mohali’s Mataur on March 17, has now been declared part of a goat by the district animal husbandry department.
The controversial discovery, made in the severely unhygienic kitchen of the factory, had sent shock waves through the country amid concerns about food safety and animal cruelty.
The factory owners, Arzudeen and Joginderpal Singh, who remain at large, were booked for spreading infection and adulteration two days after the raid on the complaint of a food safety officer (FSO), with action under animal cruelty charges remaining, pending verification.
Now, after the animal husbandry department’s findings, the potential case of animal cruelty seems to have been effectively “wrapped up”, with focus shifting to food safety violations at the unhygienic factory.
In a statement released on Saturday, Mohali deputy commissioner Komal Mittal confirmed that the March 17 inspection revealed severe violations of hygiene and sanitation standards. Along with food samples, a “piece of flesh” was recovered and sent for examination to senior veterinary officers. The department’s experts identified it as goat meat, with the piece measuring 10 inches by 6 inches and weighing about half a kilogram.
Deputy director, animal husbandry, Mohali, in the report stated that backbone was visible in the flesh piece, which after analysis seems to be either of buck goat (male goat) or doe goat (female goat).
However, doubts have been raised by Ravi Arora, the whistle-blower in the case, who questioned the findings of the animal husbandry department.
“We clicked photos and videos of the flesh recovered from the spot. Everyone present suspected it to be the severed head of a pug dog or a cat rather than a goat,” Arora said.
