Thirty-seven employees of a leading meat export unit in Aligarh were arrested for alleged animal cruelty and violation of the Environment Quality Act, police said on Sunday.
The arrests were made on Saturday evening following a surprise check of the unit located at Cherat in the Jawan area. Those arrested have been booked under the Animal Cruelty Act and the Environment Quality Act, 1974, according to a police statement.
The Delhi-based owner of the Hind Agro industries plant and two top officers of the unit, who were not present at the site at the time of the raid, have been booked under IPC sections 273 (selling food or drink knowing the same to be noxious), 420 (forgery) and 120 B (conspiracy).
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A report mentioning technical violations at the unit found by the team of officials has been sent to the authorities concerned in Lucknow for further action, police said. The team have seized eight chopping knives which were being used illegally for slaughtering the animals instead of the automatic slaughter, officials said.
A large amount of the slaughtered flesh was allegedly found strewn on the floor in unhygienic conditions and their samples have been sent to a government laboratory in Lucknow for testing, they said, adding a detailed probe into the matter is on.
(With PTI inputs)
