Dibrugarh police seize 62 kg of banned beef, trader on the run

A CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH: Dibrugarh police seized a huge quantity of banned beef from Panchali during a raid early on Tuesday morning. During the raid, police recovered 62 kilograms of the prohibited meat from a house located near the Brahmaputra river in the Panchali area of the city.

Sensing the arrival of the police, the illegal meat trader identified as Meraj Khan fled the spot.

It is noteworthy that this riverside area of Panchali is notorious for various anti-social activities. In recent times, many suspicious individuals have settled at these riverbank localities, raising serious concerns about law and order.

The raid was conducted under the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021. The Act prohibits the slaughter of cattle and sale of beef near temples and in Hindu-majority areas.

Sources said that despite the strong law for protection against slaughtering of cattle, organized cattle smuggling and slaughtering was going on in Dibrugarh.

"The cattle are brought from the riverine area by boat and after secretly slaughtering them in the illegal slaughter house, they sell the meat to the people. It has been secretly going on and Meraj Khan, the notorious cattle thief, has been engaged in the activity for a long time," said a source.

He added, "Meraj Khan is also associated with other anti-social activities and has been arrested by police many times for drug trafficking and other crimes."

Meanwhile, Dibrugarh police launched a search operation to nab him.

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