Truck with 1.50 tonnes of beef seized at Kharghar, two held

The Kharghar police seized a truck with 1.50 tonnes of beef near the toll naka on Sion-Panvel highway on Wednesday

The Kharghar police seized a truck with 1.50 tonnes of beef near the toll naka on Sion-Panvel highway on Wednesday.

The police have booked the accused under sections 429 and 43 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and different sections of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act (HT)

They have also arrested two persons, including the truck driver, who were transporting the meat to Mumbai from Pune without any documents.

Ravindra Ahire, assistant police inspector from Kharghar police station, said, “We had received a tip off that some people were planning to illegally transport a huge amount of beef to the city from outside. Accordingly, we laid a trap to get hold of them.”

“Within a few hours our officials spotted the truck passing through the toll naka. They checked and found the meat in it. We then arrested the driver and the other person in it,” he said.

The arrested people have been identified as Babubhai Mehboob, 40, and Faisal Shaikh, 25, both residents of Pune.

The police have booked them under sections 429 and 43 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and different sections of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act. They were produced before the judicial court on Thursday.

The police called in a doctor to examine the meat to confirm that it were beef. On receiving the preliminary reports they disposed the meat on Thursday. “We are now investigating the case to find out the real culprits,” Ahire said.

“The accused did not have any document to transport meat. They were taking it to Kurla. We have sent the sample for forensic tests. The remaining meat has been disposed in a dumping ground,” he added.

The police called in a doctor to examine the meat to confirm that those were beef. On receiving the preliminary reports they disposed the meat on Thursday.