Ghaziabad: 2 held for placing buffalo meat in cowshed to incite communal tension; 3 absconding

Ghaziabad (UP): Two persons were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to incite communal tension by placing buffalo meat inside a cowshed here, police said.

Three other accused -- Rishabh, Chaya Sharma and Nand Kishore -- are absconding, while the arrested persons have been identified as as Yogesh Chowdhary and Shivam, they said.

Nand, Yogesh and Shivam along with Rishabh, procured 8 kg of meat from a shop in Hindan Vihar on the instructions of Chaya Sharma, the daughter of the cowshed operator Ram Kumar, a police officer said.

Chaya, who lives with her father, allegedly directed them to place the meat inside the Shiv Chandi Gaushala on the night of March 12, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (City Zone) Rajesh Kumar said.

The accused then informed a local "Gau Sewak," Pawan Tomar, about the presence of a large quantity of meat inside the cowshed premises, allegedly to stir communal unrest, the officer said.

Upon receiving information an FIR was registered at Sihani Gate police station on March 13, coinciding with the Holi festival, he said.

Police recovered the meat and sent it for examination at a government veterinary hospital, which confirmed that it was buffalo meat, he added.

The FIR has been registered against the five accused under Sections 248(a) (intent to cause injury to any person or causes to be instituted any criminal proceedings against that person) and 353(2) (public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), police said.

While Yogesh and Shivam have been arrested, efforts are on to trace the remaining accused, the DCP added.