Qatar partially lifts ban on frozen seafood from India
Kolkata, Feb 17: Qatar partially lifted a ban imposed last year on the import of frozen seafood from India, the Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) said on Friday.
Restrictions will continue on the export of chilled seafood which constitutes nearly one-third of total seafood exports to the West Asian country worth Rs 143 crore in 2021-22.
Frozen seafood is stored at minus 20 degrees whereas the storing temperature of chilled seafood is 3-4 c.
The ban was imposed in November last year, just ahead of the FIFA World Cup there, following the alleged detection of Vibrio cholerea a bacteria that causes cholera infection - from a few consignments from India, MPEDA officials said.
The Qatari authorities had informed India that the ban was temporary owing to a lack of sufficient testing laboratories in their country in the run-up to the football event.
"This week is proving to be very good for the seafood exporters in India, considering a similar lift in the suspension by China. We hope that the restrictions by Qatar on the chilled seafood will also be cleared soon after a reassessment of the situation," MPEDA Chairman DV Swami said.
Swami is in Kolkata for the India International Seafood Show held in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India. Friday was the last day of the event.
The Department of Commerce along with the embassy of India in Qatar held a series of discussions with Qatar's Ministry of Public Health, leading to the issuance of a notification on Thursday lifting the ban partially.
In the current fiscal as per provisional figures, seafood exports to the West Asian country were worth nearly Rs 90 crore dominated by shrimps.
China has also lifted the suspension of shipments from 99 Indian seafood processing and exporting units, following which seafood exports are expected to cross USD 8 billion in the current fiscal.
In 2021-22, total seafood exports from India were valued at USD 7.76 billion.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
