Deserted and quiet during the day, a high-end meat factory near Delhi bursts into activity at night.

In the daytime, the sprawling Al Nasir abattoir at Ghaziabad's Dasna appears to have been impacted heavily by the Yogi government's stringent regulations on meat trade.

This buffalo slaughterhouse is also under radar for alleged construction violations. The Ghaziabad Development Authority has already raised several objections over its building plan and land use.

Potential penalties aside, Al Nasir's abattoir bursts into action when darkness descends.

In the thick of night, this plush slaughterhouse turns into a house of horror - or rather a castle of horror - where buffaloes and their little ones are put to a barbaric end.

When India Today's undercover team walked into its huge compound little after midnight recently, a horrendous sight unfolded on its secret cameras -- hundreds of buffaloes, their babies lying on a blood-spattered floor, their throats slashed by primitive swords.

Conscious of their surroundings, the animals and their offspring were killed in front of one another in gross breach of anti-cruelty laws.

Bleeding survivors trembled as sword-wielding butchers walked over carcasses to deliver a fatal swipe.

Calves tried to escape, but could not, pulled as they were by their legs and slashed at the neck.

ANTI-CRUELTY LAW

The country's anti-cruelty laws ban killing of pregnant or nursing animals and their babies less than three months in age.

No animal is allowed to be slaughtered in sight of other animals in abattoirs either.

But India Today recorded extreme abuse at the Dasna slaughterhouse of Al Nasir Exports, which on its website boasts itself as a global leader in frozen halal, buffalo meat.

The company also makes tall claims about compliance with international standards for slaughtering, bragging its quality controls.

But India Today's probe discovered severe contraventions at its abattoir.

Wrapped in plastic packaging, Al Nasir's meat products bear no resemblance to what India Today found behind the closed doors of its meat factory and around it.

Indescribable stench comes out of a thick, dark drain along the slaughterhouse in a startling testimony to heavy pollution from animal parts and blood.

When reached for comment, Al Nasir's director Mohammad Salim Qureshi issued a flat denial of any wrongdoing. "We have all papers and licensing," Qureshi claimed when asked about violations at his slaughterhouse.

"Where do you procure such animals for slaughtering when there's a ban on their sale?" probed the reporter.

"The new central law hasn't been implemented fully yet. Our association is in talks with the government. So far, it (slaughtering) is happening regularly," Qureshi replied.

But abuse and environment degradation appeared to be a common practice in various animal businesses, big and small alike.

In the bushes of Amroha, India Today's investigative reporters saw livestock crammed into a truck wagon for a hideous journey to one of the numerous, hole-in-the-wall slaughterhouses dotting Uttar Pradesh.

The team visited a home turned into an abattoir for spot butchering and sale of buffalo meat.

"You want meat. Get it from here. We'll slaughter it and weigh it for you here itself," said Arif, its owner. "Get the meat weighed. We'll make (slaughter) it for you at night. We'll give you at Rs 140 a kilo," he offered.

Soon, Arif untied a buffalo, pulled it outside of the house and on to a truck.

Chopped and skinned carcasses of buffaloes could also be seen at dilapidated meat shops in parts of Amroha.

"What I have here are (meat of) five male buffaloes. I'll get more animals from the market if our deal is finalised," said Amir, a meat seller. "It will be Rs 150 (per kg)."

In the winding lanes of the historic city of Agra, India Today's reporters met Chand, a supplier of buffalo meat and a butcher himself.

"Did slaughtering happen today?" asked the journalist.

"Yes, five-six buffaloes were slaughtered at our own home," Chand confessed.

A middleman in meat business, Zaheer-ud-Din also guaranteed supplies of outlawed produce to the investigative team.

A resident of Agra's Sadar Bazaar area, he disclosed how he would organise the delivery.

"We will do it (the slaughtering) at home itself," he explained.

(With inputs from Ashutosh Mishra)

Also read:

Is ban on sale of cattle for slaughter unconstitutional? A fact check

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre on plea challenging cattle slaughter ban

BJP shows flexibility over beef ban, says states free to decide on slaughter of cows

Cattle slaughter economy: How ban on sale of cattle for killing may affect industry, employment

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