New Delhi. Right-wing groups led by Shiv Sena workers on Thursday allegedly shut down at least 500 meat shops in Haryana’s Gurgaon due to Navratri festival.
The general secretary and spokesperson of Shiv Sena’s Gurugram area, Ritu Raj, told PTI, “We have served notices to every meat and chicken shop. This time we have not served notices to restaurants, such as KFC and other food chains which serve chicken in their restaurants as it is not seen openly. One will have to face consequences in case he does not follow instructions.”
The right-wing group workers also threatened the owners of non-vegetarian food outlets of dire consequences if they did not close down their shops for the entire 9-day period of Navratri festival.
A group of Shiv Sena workers had gathered in Gurgaon’s Palam Vihar area, where they forced shut down of meat markets in Surat Nagar, Ashok Vihar, Sector 5 and 9, Pataudi Chowk, Jacobpura, Sadar Bazaar, Khandsa Anaj Mandi, bus stand, DLF area, Sohna and Sector 14 market.
“We had on Tuesday served a memorandum to Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh demanding shutting down of raw meat shops for the next 9 days in view of Navratras but the district administration did not direct the meat shop owners to shut down,” Raj said.
A senior police officer told PTI, “We are looking into the matter and no one is authorised to take law into his own hands. If the shops were forcefully shut down by the workers of Shiv Sena, we will take strict against them and are awaiting for the complaint to be registered in this regard.”
Elsewhere, according to a report by Hindustan Times, said that another right-wing organisation, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Kranti Dal, too was involved in shutting down of meat shops in the area.
We had sent letters to the MCG (Municipal Corporation of Gurugram) and district administration officials to prohibit sale of meat during Navratri. However, they failed to act,and, hence we have started asking meat owners to shut shop from today,” Chetan Sharma, general secretary of ABHKD said.
Cr:JKR
