Nearly 2000 kg of rotten meat seized in Budgam in two days; FIR registered

SRINAGAR — Officials have seized and destroyed nearly two tonnes of rotten meat at Budgam Railway Station over two days, with police registering an FIR over the first seizure and investigating to identify those responsible.

About 1,600 kg of meat was seized on Friday after Railway Police alerted the Food Safety Department to a foul smell coming from a consignment. A second consignment of about 380 kg was seized from a parcel train on Saturday, an official told the news agency KNO. Together, the seizures total roughly 1,980 kg.

SHO Railway Police Budgam Benazir Iqbal said the consignment was inspected on the spot by the Veterinary Department. “The doctor issued a certificate declaring the meat unfit for human consumption due to its highly deteriorated condition and potential health risks,” she said.

The meat was disposed of in the presence of the Tehsildar, the Executive Officer of Municipal Committee Budgam and Food Safety officials. FIR No. 05 has been registered under Section 271 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and police are investigating to identify those who transported and handled the consignment.

Benazir said the consignment was unmarked and not booked in the name of any identifiable person. Police are also questioning railway authorities over how it was accepted without proper documentation.

She said meat transport requires slaughterhouse, veterinary and FSSAI certificates, plus refrigeration at minus 18 degrees Celsius or below. The seized meat arrived in ordinary packaging without ice or refrigeration, she said.

Assistant Commissioner Food Safety Budgam Mufti Umar said the department received a call from Railway Police at around 3 pm on Friday. The meat was found in a highly deteriorated condition, with containers leaking blood and emitting a foul smell, he said.

The Veterinary Surgeon’s findings were verified by the Food Safety team, including the Food Analyst and the Mobile Food Testing Van. A Magistrate deputed by the district administration ordered its disposal to keep it out of the public distribution channel.

An official spokesman said the FDA, J&K, with Railway Police, railway authorities and the Budgam administration, destroyed approximately 1,600 kg of buffalo meat after detecting serious violations relating to its declaration, transportation and cold-chain maintenance. Preliminary testing through the Food Safety on Wheels facility indicated the meat was unfit for consumption, and it was destroyed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The spokesman noted that Food Safety authorities had earlier seized about 2,600 kg of meat in Srinagar.

The Assistant Commissioner urged people to report suspicious food consignments to the department.

Meanwhile, Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Dr Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq told KNO on Saturday that those bringing and trading such meat in Kashmir should face strict punishment, and questioned how such incidents recur despite earlier action. “The government must take concrete steps, and police should take full action against those involved and book them under relevant laws at the earliest,” he said.

Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam Farooqi termed the trade and consumption of decomposed meat prohibited (“Haraam”) under Sharia and urged people to buy only from licensed shops.

He appreciated the Railway Police and Food Safety Department for the seizures, questioned how such meat was reaching Kashmir and for how long, and urged stronger inspections and restrictions on such consignments entering the Valley.

The article first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse at https://kashmirpulse.com/jk/kashmir/nearly-2000-kg-of-rotten-meat-seized-in-budgam-in-two-days-fir-registered/117453.html