As reported by Amar Ujala Bureau, a man was arrested with three quintals of cow meat from a farm near Pukhrayan town in Kanpur Dehat district. As confirmed by police inspector Shiv Kumar Rathore, Bhognipur Kotwali sub-inspector Satyendra Singh Yadav along with SP Suresh Bajpai raided the farm near Chandapur village after getting a tip-off that four people were illegally engaging in cow slaughtering.

As police reached the spot, three out of the four accused ran away. However, one was caught. The accused was a local resident from Chandapur village named Sahar. He was caught with three quintals of cow meat and the tools which were used for cow slaughtering.

The three accused who fled was identified as Hasnain, son of a local resident of the Chandapur village named Kallan, the second accused was Hasnain alias Baba, son of a local, Pappu and the third was identified as Shafik son of a person named Maqbool. The police have lodged an FIR against the four accused and sent the meat to the animal husbandry department for further inquiry.

Last year on 29th December, nine people, including five women, were arrested for cow slaughter and three quintals of beef were seized from them during a raid on two houses in Khatoli town in Uttar Pradesh.

In January 2016, Police seized a large amount of beef from a utility vehicle which was being transported to Delhi and arrested the driver. The arrested driver claimed that one Bhura was the main person involved in this business but could not give any more details, they said.

However, these are only a few of the many such incidents which happen on a regular basis. Illegal cow slaughtering and cattle mafia have become an epidemic and a major flash-point for ethnic and religious conflicts leading to riots and even deaths, which needs attention and concrete action on an urgent basis.