Tension in Ainapur after lorry carrying suspected cow meat set ablaze, seven arrested
Belagavi: Tension gripped Ainapur town in Kagwad taluk late Monday night after local residents allegedly set fire to a lorry suspected of transporting three tonnes of cow meat. Police have arrested seven people, including those involved in transporting the meat and those accused of torching the vehicle.
According to officials, the lorry was carrying meat from Kudachi in Raibag taluk to Hyderabad. The load, concealed under slabs of ice, was intercepted in Ainapur by a group reportedly linked to Hindu organisations, who set the truck ablaze. By the time police arrived, the vehicle was reduced to ashes. The driver and cleaner were also assaulted and sustained injuries.
District Superintendent of Police (SP) Bheemashankar Guled confirmed the arrests. The alleged transporters, Vikas Ware and Sudhir Gasti of Sangli district (Maharashtra) and Saheblal Muthawale of Kudachi, were booked under the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. A fourth suspect was detained in Kalaburagi and is being brought back, as reported by Deccan Herald.
Those accused of torching the lorry, Avesh Jiragale, Suhas Londe, Anil Savali, and Sadashiv Kurandavade of Ainapur were arrested after being identified in videos of the incident. An additional case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, was registered, as the lorry driver reportedly belongs to the Dalit community.
SP Guled added that meat samples had been sent to a laboratory for confirmation. “The suspects had been purchasing the meat for about a week now,” he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Commission agent's licence suspended in Meerut for storing veggies in toilet
Meerut (UP) (PTI): The market administration in Meerut has suspended the licence of a commission agent or ‘arhtiya’ for storing vegetables inside a defunct toilet at the Mawana Naveen Sabzi Mandi in the city, officials said on Sunday.
The action followed after a video went viral showing vegetables, including tomato, ladyfinger, green chilli, coriander, mint and bottle gourd – packed in polythene bags inside an unused toilet on the market premises.
The secretary of the Mandi committee, Arjun Singh, told PTI that the toilet had been out of use for a long time due to being clogged.
“Abhay Kumar, the proprietor of Pradhan Trading Company, stored leftover vegetables there without permission. Within two hours of receiving information on May 15, a team from the Mandi committee reached the spot, seized about one quintal of vegetables, and buried them in a pit,” Singh said.
A notice was issued to Abhay Kumar, but since no satisfactory response was received, his licence has been suspended, he added.
According to officials, toilets in the market complex meant for use by farmers, commission agents and customers were allegedly being used as storerooms.
Following the incident, SDM Santosh Kumar Singh has sought an explanation from the Mandi committee secretary.
Strict action would be taken against those found guilty after an inquiry report is received, the SDM said.
