Trucker held with 500kg camel meat on way from Nuh to Delhi

Initial probe suggested that the camels were slaughtered barely an hour before the arrest, in a remote village bordering Rajasthan, police said

Gurugram

Police said they will take the accused on remand and question him to identify others involved in the racket. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The cow protection cell of Gurugram Police intercepted a truck containing 500 kilograms of camel meat, which is illegal, near the Rajiv Chowk underpass and arrested a person who was ferrying it to Delhi for distribution to food outlets, police said on Monday.

Following a tip-off, police intercepted the vehicle that was ferrying the meat from Nuh through the Sohna Road around 7.30am on Sunday. Initial probe suggested that the camels were slaughtered barely an hour before the arrest, in a remote village bordering Rajasthan, police said.

The suspect was identified as Mohammad Farid alias Parwez, 29, who is a resident of Kol village in Nuh. He was previously involved in an attempted murder case and was on the run since, police said.

Slaughter and consumption of camel meat is prohibited under Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. Under Section 325 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, there is provision of imprisonment for five years or a fine or both for “mischief by killing or maiming animal”, besides a separate fine for killing or torturing animals under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

A senior police officer said Farid was asked to open the rear container, from where the consignment was recovered. “Farid was quizzed; he said that it was camel meat. They were slaughtered hardly an hour back and immediately loaded for smuggling,” the officer, requesting anonymity, said.

Inspector Mahender Singh, station house officer of Shivaji Nagar police station, said that the slaughter was done in a remote Nuh village. “Farid was tasked with smuggling it to Delhi for distribution to selected eateries and restaurants there,” he said.

Police said they would take Farid on remand to ascertain the number of times meat was smuggled and close in on those running the racket.

On a complaint from assistant sub-inspector of police Jagbir Singh, an FIR was registered under Section 325 (mischief by killing or maiming animal) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act at Shivaji Nagar police station on Sunday.

On February 22, police arrested a trucker who was attempting to flee with 800kg of camel meat by ramming the barricades after a chase on the Sohna Road. He was carrying the meat from Nuh for distribution in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.