SRINAGAR — A huge quantity of “rotten” meat, weighing about 1,600 kilograms, was recovered by railway police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam, an official said on Saturday.
The meat was transported from Delhi in railway cargo, allegedly to be distributed in the valley.
Railway police SHO Baynazir Iqbal told reporters that information was received from reliable sources that a parcel train, which had arrived in Budgam from Delhi, “had rotten meat in its front bogie”.
She said police recovered 44 boxes of rotten meat inside the bogie. It was transported in ordinary packets and without any required refrigeration system, according to her.
“When a box was unsealed and opened, we saw meat inside. ‘Buffalo meat’ was written on it, but there were no ice cubes in it. There should be proper documentation if someone is transporting it by train.
“First of all, there was no freezer system. Second, (one needs) a certificate noting where the slaughtering takes place. Third, there is a veterinary certificate. Fourth, there is a certificate from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). There was nothing like that; it wasn’t backed by anything,” she added.
The SHO said the railway police have registered an FIR under Section 271 of the BNS.
“We informed the Food Safety and Standards Department. They arrived immediately, and the tehsildar of Budgam also arrived. After that, it was seized and is being destroyed,” she said.
Iqbal said the meat weighed around 1,600 kilograms.
“They were going to distribute it here in the Valley,” she added.
A row had erupted in the Kashmir Valley last year after authorities recovered rotten meat from several places and eateries. The valley-wide raids by police and food safety authorities recovered over 12,000 kilograms of rotten meat — unfit for human consumption. — (PTI)