Till last year, animal sacrifice was carried out at government slaughterhouses but their closure has created a difficult situation in UP and confusion is prevailing among the Muslim community on the eve of Bakrid. Till last year, animal sacrifice was carried out at government slaughterhouses but their closure has created a difficult situation in UP and confusion is prevailing among the Muslim community on the eve of Bakrid.

In a strict order, local authorities on Friday warned that the stringent Gangsters Act would be invoked against those who sacrifice cow, buffalo, camel, or ox as ‘Qurbani’ during Bakrid on Saturday. “All police stations under Sambhal tehsil have been alerted to invoke the Gangsters Act against anyone sacrificing cow, buffalo, camel or ox on the occasion of Bakrid tomorrow,” SDM Sambhal Rashid Khan said.

Till last year, animal sacrifice was carried out at government slaughterhouses but their closure has created a difficult situation in UP and confusion is prevailing among the Muslim community on the eve of Bakrid. Besides, the movable and immovable property of those involved in such a sacrifice will be impounded, he said. The SHOs have been asked to take strict action against anyone sacrificing these animals on the festival day, the SDM said. Khan said the SHOs have been asked to extensively tour their areas and see that no such incident takes place from September 2 to 4.

The Uttar Pradesh police had issued a terse warning in June that those involved in cow slaughter and illegal transport of milch animals will be booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and Gangsters Act. Under NSA, the government can detain a person for as long as it wishes and the authorities need not disclose the grounds of detention.

A person booked under the provision of Gangsters Act becomes part of a gang listed in police records. It entitles the police to keep track of those booked under the Act and issue summons to them for attendance at the local police station for questioning even if no fresh case is lodged against them. The Act permits the police to seek remand of an accused for a maximum of 60 days as compared to a maximum of 14 days under normal circumstances.

A government order to ban cow slaughter and illegal transport of milch animals was passed during the previous SP government in the state but was never strictly implemented. The Centre has recently issued a notification imposing a blanket ban on the slaughtering of cattle – cows, bulls, buffaloes, camels, heifers – bought from animal markets.

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