Truck carrying 20 tonnes of suspected cow meat seized in Rajasthan

A container truck carrying approximately 20 tonnes of beef was seized by the police in Rajasthan's Alwar district after receiving a tip-off from cow vigilantes. While the vehicle's papers declared the cargo buffalo meat, a group of right-wing activists alleged that the truck was transporting cow meat.

The container truck was intercepted by the police on a stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway while Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, had arrived in Alwar on Wednesday to inspect the major motorway.

The consignment of meat reportedly belonged to a private company and was being transported in large-scale commercial packaging. According to the police, the container was carrying packaged meat in quantities ranging from 1 kilogram to 10 kilograms.

The truck was travelling from Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh. Cow vigilantes expressed suspicion about the nature of the meat being transported through the vehicle and demanded that it be examined by the animal husbandry department.

Acting on information provided by them, the truck was intercepted and seized by the police. Following this, a veterinary officer was called in.

Samples of the meat were subsequently collected and sent for laboratory testing. The police said an investigation is underway into the matter, adding that it will only be possible to determine the actual nature of the meat after the test report is received.

Officials said any further legal action would be based on the findings of the laboratory test. The incident came days after a container truck carrying meat was seized in Rajasthan's Dausa district.

In that case as well, the consignment documents reportedly described the cargo as buffalo meat.

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(Based on inputs from Himanshu Sharma)