“Meat shops were opened near temples in Loni. It is illegal and amounts to rashtradroh,” said Nand Kishor Gurjar. “Meat shops were opened near temples in Loni. It is illegal and amounts to rashtradroh,” said Nand Kishor Gurjar.

The BJP MLA from Loni, Ghaziabad, who went around the area Saturday night telling people to shut meat shops in areas near temples, said opening such shops was “rashtradroh”.

“Meat shops were opened near temples in Loni. It is illegal and amounts to rashtradroh. None of this would have been possible without the connivance of local officials,” MLA Nand Kishor Gurjar said.

Ghaziabad SSP U K Agrawal said police have not received any any complaint in the matter.

Sources, however, said licences of meat shops and slaughterhouses were regularised after 2017 and no issues were raised with regard to meat shops in Loni in the period.

In 2017, the UP government had come out with guidelines that said meat shops will not be allowed within a 50-metre radius of a religious place.

“Navratris have begun and it is absolutely wrong to continue slaughter. Tomorrow if there is tension in the area because of this, who will be responsible?” Gurjar said.

“Maine unse nivedan kiya aur kaha ki ye sab theek nahi hai. Waise toh main kisi se request nahi karta. Maine kaha ye sab theek nahi hai. Aur unhone band kar di. (I requested them and told them this was wrong. Usually I don’t make requests. I said this was wrong and they shut the shops),” he said.

BJP media in-charge in Ghaziabad Pradeep Chaudhary said he was not aware of the incident. “If the MLA did it, it must have been his own agenda. We are not aware of this,” he said.

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