Four people were detained in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly after police raided two shops allegedly selling non-vegetarian food along a designated Kanwar Yatra route, officials said on Sunday.
This came after authorities had directed traders not to sell meat, chicken, fish and other non-vegetarian food along the routes designated to be travelled by Kanwariyas during the pilgrimage. The officials had warned of legal action if the orders were violated.
The police action came amid heightened police and administrative surveillance on Kanwar routes during the ongoing Sawan month, PTI news agency reported. Monitoring along the Bareilly-Bahedi route and other major Kanwar routes has been increased to check the sale of meat, chicken and fish in restricted or designated areas.
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Shop found running despite earlier warning, its roof razed
The police received information on Saturday evening that chicken biryani was being sold at a shop near the old Roadways bus stand in Bahedi in Bareilly district, according to the PTI report.
When the cops raided the shop, it was found operating despite an earlier warning. The police then detained the shopkeepers, identified as Salman and Raees. The former is a resident of Lodhipur.
{{/usCountry}}When the cops raided the shop, it was found operating despite an earlier warning. The police then detained the shopkeepers, identified as Salman and Raees. The former is a resident of Lodhipur.
{{/usCountry}}Following this, a JCB machine was brought to the spot and the shop's tin shed and counter were removed, Bahedi circle officer Arun Kumar Singh said, PTI reported. In a second incident, the cops raided another shop near the bakery area and detained two other persons.
Police said that these traders had already been given a warning earlier to stop the sale of non-vegetarian food during the Kanwar pilgrimage, but had allegedly continued to operate. Circle officer Singh reiterated that directions regarding the sale of non-vegetarian food along major routes during Sawan month had been issued earlier on, adding that further violations of the instructions could invite legal action.
Unauthorised meat shops along Kanwar Yatra route ordered shut in Delhi too
Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had also, in June, ordered a crackdown on all illegal and unlicensed meat shops operating along the Kanwar routes and near the 308 Kanwar camps, senior municipal officials said.
The office memorandum, dated June 27 and issued by MCD additional commissioner Arun Mishra, stated, “During the said meeting, it was deliberated that Karwar Camps shall primarily be established at 308 original sites besides some new sites, as the case may be, and will become fully operational from July 30, the first day of Shravana month till Shivratri on August 11.”