In the wake of the kanwar yatra, meat shop owners in Muzaffarnagar have been asked to temporarily close their businesses and cover their shop fronts with black cloth “to avoid offending the religious sentiments of the Hindu pilgrims.” Meat sellers, mostly local Muslims, called it an attack on their livelihood.
The ban on meat and preventive detention of local Muslims has stirred fear and chaos among Muslims in the area, reports News Click.
According to the news website, at least 114 Muslims were detained arbitrarily by Uttar Pradesh Police.
“At least 90 Muslims were called to 18 different police stations in Muzaffarnagar on Saturday. They were challenged under section 151 of CrPC and sent to jail the same day. The next day they arrested 24 more Muslims in a similar pattern. They were called concerning the Peace committee meeting, but police said they may disturb peace ahead of Kanwar Yatra. They were let off after spending a night in the jail, and they furnished a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh each not to slaughter animals and disturb the harmony and peace,” Murtaza Rana, the lawyer who represented the case, told NewsClick.
“We were detained and sent to jail for a day. When we asked the police officer for which crime we were being sent to jail, he said our track record was bad. We were sent to jail for a day based on mere suspicion that we might commit any crime which would disturb the peace of the city,” a Muslim youth said to the news website.
The Meerut administration has also maintained that all meat shops on the Kanwar route will be closed, and more than 1000 CCTV cameras were installed to monitor this ban.
The Noida administration has also instructed the closure of meat shops along all routes of the kanwar yatra.
“I am the only earning member in my family of six. I recently got married and my responsibilities have increased. My brother has been suffering from kidney issues for the last eight years and requires dialysis multiple times at a private hospital. Each session costs around Rs 3,000. Police have asked us to shut shop for the whole Saawan month. How can we survive without working even a single day?” Indian Express quotes Mohd. Salaam (28), who has a chicken shop in Noida Sector 8, as asking.
He went on to say: “I do not own my shop… the rent is Rs 8,000 a month. I will have to pay this even when the shop is closed. We were not even consulted… a policeman just came and said we cannot open our meat shops from July 4… this is not even the kanwariya route. The closure will mean a loss of more than Rs 30,000 for me.”
