Mumbai, May 13 (Mid-Day): In the city’s first such arrest, the Worli police picked up meat seller Mohammad Akram Yasin Qureshi (56) from the BDD chawl in the area for selling beef.

The incident came to light after a few members of a right-wing outfit went to the police station and informed the officials that Qureshi was selling beef at BDD chawl.

In his statement, Qureshi told the police that he purchased the meat from the Deonar abattoir in the morning and started selling it from one of the rooms at BDD chawl. He showed a purchase receipt to the officials, wherein it was mentioned that the meat was beef.

However, the receipt did not categorically say whether the meat was illegal beef or carabeef (water buffalo meat, which can be sold legally). Inspector Jayendra Sawant, from Worli police station, said, “We recovered 29 kilograms of beef from the room from where the accused was operating. He claimed that he had purchased it in the morning from Deonar and even showed us the purchase receipt. We are now trying to verify whether the meat is of a cow or water buffalo.”

Qureshi was booked under Sections 6 and 9 (A) of the Maharashtra Animal Protection Act, Sections 10, 114 of the BMC Act and Sections 115 and 117 of the Maharashtra Police Act.

The state’s first such case was registered in the month of March in Nashik, wherein three meat sellers were arrested.