Navi Mumbai: A 45-year-old butcher was booked by Ulwe police for slaughtering rams and goats and hanging their meat for sale at his illegally set-up tin shade on the pavement near a school in Sector 20, Ulwe, within the restricted 10 km radius and about 2 km from the aerodrome reference point of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).Arjun Rajane, senior inspector of Ulwe, said the accused was identified as Mohammad Mohsin Abdulmajid Qureshi, a resident of Mohgaon, Panvel taluka. The legal action was taken after he previously ignored the warnings.Rajane said, “Qureshi tied the animals for slaughtering behind the tin shade. The animals were kept in unhygienic conditions without providing them with any fodder and water; the animals were rescued. The butcher’s knife and log used for slaughtering the animals were seized. The rescued rams and goats, collectively worth Rs 76,000, along with a police report, were handed over to the manager of Kalote Animal Trust in Kalote Mokashi, Khalapur taluka, in Raigad for nurturing them at the trust’s animal shelter.”According to police, Qureshi was not arrested but served with a notice as per the provisions of Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita. He was booked under BNS sections for the offence of mischief by killing or maiming an animal, along with Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, previously The Aircraft Act, 1934, which prohibits slaughtering/flaying animals or depositing rubbish, filth, or obnoxious matter within a 10 km radius of an aerodrome reference point, and The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
