133 held in Assam for illegal cattle slaughter, selling beef

Guwahati, Jul 1 (PTI) At least 133 people were apprehended on Tuesday for their role in alleged violation of the Assam Cattle Preservation Act and over one tonne of suspected beef were seized across the state, a senior police officer said.

According to Inspector General Police (Law and Order) Akhilesh Kumar Singh, a suo-motu drive was initiated across the state to check reported incidents of illegal cattle slaughter and selling of beef in restaurants unauthorisedly.

Consumption of beef is not illegal in Assam, but The Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, bans cattle slaughter and sale of beef in areas where Hindus, Jains and Sikhs are in majority and in areas within a five-km radius of a temple or satra (Vaishnavite monastery).

"The main intention of the drive is to stop violation of The Assam Cattle Preservation Act. We raided hotels and restaurants, registered dozens of cases at many police stations across the state and picked up scores of people," Singh told PTI.

He said that police have so far apprehended 133 people after raiding 112 hotels and seized more than one tonne of suspected beef meat from across the state.

"The operation is still going on, and the exact figure will be known later. The drive will continue in the coming days," he added.

On June 8, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that a number of cattle were allegedly slaughtered illegally at several places during Eid festival and parts of the meat were thrown at multiple locations in various parts of the state.

For throwing suspected beef during the recent Eid festival, police arrested around 80 people in Dhubri, Hojai, Goalpara and Lakhimpur districts.

Sarma on June 20 said that the implementation of The Assam Cattle Preservation Act will be strictly enforced in all districts to prevent availability and consumption of beef within a five km radius of religious places of worship.

"The availability and consumption of beef during the recent Eid festival despite the ban within a 5 km radius of temples and other places of worship is a very serious matter," he had said at a press conference. PTI TR NN