Three Muslim women were arrested by Uttar Pradesh’s police on Wednesday after raiding a house in the Kaushambi district on suspicion of beef cooking. The arrests occurred in Panara Gopalpur, which falls under the jurisdiction of Sarai Akil, police said in a statement.
According to police, on Wednesday, they received information that a family had allegedly brought beef and the women were cooking it. Following this, a police team raided the house. On seeing the team, the police said men of the family fled away as they “took advantage of the populated, narrow streets” while the women were attempting to flee. However, the police personnel detained them.
The police said that a container of cooked meat along with a transparent plastic bag containing raw meat was recovered.
“We have arrested the three women. During questioning, they told us the meat was beef that had been brought by their family members from outside,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Abhishek Singh, as reported by the Indian Express.
The three women have been identified as Shama Parveen, Shaista, and Fatima. During the questioning hours, the women said that the family members brought the meat from outside, half of which they planned to cook the next day.
The women as described by the police are in their 30s and have been booked under a section of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, and men who are absconding are being searched by the police.
Police said that about 1 kg of raw meat and 1 kg of cooked meat were recovered, and the samples have been sent to a forensic laboratory for examination.
Speaking to Siasat.com, the police said, “We found out about this through activists and the information that circulates on social media. However, we cannot disclose how those activists obtained the information.”
Furthermore, investigation would seek to reveal where the meat was sourced from and whether it had been purchased previously too.
