'Yogi raj': Massive crackdown against slaughterhouses continues in UP, over 300 sealed

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government's resolve to close all illegal slaughterhouses and mechanized abattoirs in Uttar Pradesh is bearing fruit.

Within days of the government taking charge, over 300 such establishments have been sealed by the administration across the state.

Meat processing units owned by influential people like BSP leader Yakub Qureshi have also not been spared. Three large scale units owned by Qureshi and his family in Meerut have been sealed.

Qureshi had shot to limelight in 2006 when he announced prize money for anyone who would kill the Danish cartoonist who drew a caricature mocking the Prophet. He later justified the terror attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's office in Paris and declared a prize of Rs 51 crore for the attackers.

The entire western UP belt has hundreds of such units, legal and illegal ones, that were involved in the business of 'processing' buffalo meat for export. Hindu organisations have alleged that many slaughterhouses indulged in the slaughter of cows as well.

UP has a 34% share in meat export from India – that constitutes 43% of the buffalo meat consumed across the world.

Illegal slaughterhouses in other cities like Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Allahabad have also faced closure in the last few days.

The administration has also cracked the whip on meat shops that are not running without a license.

Also, 43 people have been arrested from various districts of Uttar Pradesh for their alleged role in cattle smuggling, police said on Thursday, adding that 27 FIRs have been registered against 60 people for the same.