Cops intercept van carrying cattle meat in Noida; 4 held

Noida: Gautam Budh Nagar Police recovered 1,500 kilograms of what appeared to be cattle meat and arrested four suspects in Noida on charges of smuggling

Noida: Gautam Budh Nagar Police recovered 1,500 kilograms of what appeared to be cattle meat and arrested four suspects in Noida on charges of smuggling.

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Three of them were held on Sunday evening at the Sector 62 roundabout after the police intercepted their van, while the fourth suspect was held on Monday after a brief shoot-out. The suspects have been identified as Sajjad, Rizwan, Sirajuddin and Junaid – all residents of Dasna in Ghaziabad district, police said.

Police said they recovered 1,500 kilograms of meat from the van and sent it for testing to the district’s chief veterinary officer Brijesh Tyagi, who said that prima facie the meat appeared to be beef. The officer will send the samples for forensic examination to Meerut and the results may take up to three months.

Ranvijay Singh, the additional deputy commissioner of police (Noida), said, “The pick-up van had meat in large quantities. During the initial probe, the suspects told police that they sell meat at Ghazipur market in Delhi,” ADCP Singh said. The UP Cow Slaughter (Prevention) Act, 2020, bans the slaughter of cows in the state with a punishment of up to seven years jail and a fine of ₹3 lakh for offenders. An FIR is being lodged in the case at the Sector 58 police station and further legal proceedings are underway, police added.