By PTI

KOLKATA: Amid a raging controversy, the police today said it has arrested the kingpin of a racket involved in the supply of rotten meat in the city and neighbouring areas after processing the flesh of carcasses collected from dumping grounds.

The kingpin Biswanath Garai (52), a resident of Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas, was arrested from near Garia railway station by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) last evening, the superintendent of police of Diamond Harbour police district, Koteswara Rao told PTI.

So far 11 persons have been arrested, including a leader of a political outfit, in connection with the case.

Biswanath alias Bishu is the prime accused and the owner of a godown in Narkeldanga area in the city where the meat of dead animals were stored, he said.

"Bishu was involved in collecting the meat and then processing it. He supplied the processed carcass meat to different restaurants and markets," Rao said adding that the accused is being questioned.

It is also being examined whether any influential person was helping him in this.

"We are also looking at for how many years he was running this business and who all have been helping him in getting the meat orders," said another SIT official who is involved in the investigation.

Separately, Sudesh Poddar, the president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI), has issued an advisory to its members asking them to procure meat and poultry from registered vendors.

"Members are hereby advised to procure meat and poultry from reputed vendors who have FSSAI licence and corporation trade licence. Preference should be given to suppliers having ISO 9001 and HACCP certification," the HRAEI circular said.

The scare over rotten meat supply from dump yards has led to an increase in the demand for fish among people here.

Meat traders across the city are experiencing a slump in their businesses over the past few days.

On the other hand, the sale of fish has increased by at least 30-40 per cent, Soumyajit Das, managing director of State Fisheries Development Corporation Limited, told PTI.

"If our sale in mid-April was around 650-700 kg per day, now it has gone up to nearly 950 kg," he added. The Congress and the BJP today protested against the rotten meat racket.

The BJP organised a rally outside TMC-controlled Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and shouted slogans against the state government.

"The KMC is totally indifferent to this racket, which has flourished because the KMC and the state government have turned a blind eye," a BJP activist said. The Youth Congress too organised a rally in central Kolkata.

Congress activists carried placards and posters against the state government and demanded immediate arrest of those involved in the racket.

KMC mayor-in-council (health) Atin Ghosh said that instead of indulging in politics, the Congress and the BJP should make people aware of the problem.

Last week, the government had seized 20 tonnes of rotten meat meant to be supplied to eateries and departmental stores in the state as well as neighbouring Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar.

The West Bengal government has directed all police stations in the city and the districts to keep a watch on the sale of meat in their areas, officials said.

The state consumer affairs department is also preparing a detailed report on the matter.