Tensions erupted in the Baghmara area of the Barpeta district in Assam on Friday after some people were accused of selling horse meat in the name of beef. A large number of Muslims gathered in the market, caught 3 persons and handed them to the police. They also rescued six horses allegedly brought for slaughter.
Notably, as the Assam government has imposed restrictions on the sale and consumption of beef, there is a shortage of beef in the state. Moreover, recently the govt banned consumption of beef in public places, including hotels and restaurants. But despite the ban, hotels and restaurants in Muslim majority areas, especially on the islands and sandbars of the Brahmaputra River, are still serving beef to customers.
But some people in Baghmara suspected that the meat they were eating in eateries were not beef. Then, on Friday, they spotted six horses brought to the area. As horses are not used in the area, they suspected that they had been brought for slaughter.
They stopped the vehicle carrying the animals and nabbed three persons. The three accused nabbed by the angry people have been taken into custody by police.
According to locals, the miscreants were mixing horse meat with beef, and eateries in the area were selling this mixed meat to customers for last six months. They said that the horses are slaughtered secretly in the jungle, and the meat is supplied to hotels and restaurants. As beef demand increases for iftar parties during Ramazan, the horses were brought to meet this increased demand.
People in the area say that in recent times, they have spotted parts of horses in the fields near the forest, leading to the conclusion that horses being brought to Baghmara were being slaughtered and sold.
