MAPUSA
The Calangute Police and the Department of Animal Husbandry on Friday rejected claims that there was any form of slaughtering of cattle going on at Gaura-vaddo, Calangute.
Acting on a specific complaint, the staff of the Animal Husbandry Department and Calangute Police inspected the place belonging to one Rudolf Fernandes in Calangute and found some remnants of cattle in the area but no sign of any slaughtering of animals.
The Department of Animal Husbandry in its inspection report has submitted that no traces of slaughtering of cattle were found at the spot.
“At the time of actual inspection, there was no active slaughter and no fresh carcasses were also present at the site,” the report said.
A police official informed that Fernandes was a beef dealer who sold red meat in retail in the Calangute market and also supplied beef to hotels in the area.
“There is no slaughterhouse there. The alleged owner of the slaughterhouse has a shop in the Calangute market. But no such slaughtering activity was found in his compound. No offence has been registered,” said Laxi Amonkar, Calangute PI.
Police informed that remnants of the cattle-like bones and fat were stored in the compound which was later transported to nearby poultry farms.
The police further said that the owner has also submitted bills from the Goa Meat Complex which establishes that he purchased the beef from the GMC daily.
However, an offence was registered against the owner some 10 years back for slaughtering, but since then he had stopped the activity.
The complainant, Wilfred Pereira, who is a resident of Saligao said he had received reliable information that a slaughterhouse was being operated at Gaura-vaddo, Calangute.
“A raid was conducted in the presence of police and animal husbandry staff. We found skulls of cattle and many containers with animal fat which looks to be a very big inter-state cattle slaughter activity. Stray cattle are robbed and slaughtered. It’s a nexus of big people which needs investigation,” Pereira alleged.
He said the police needs to investigate the matter and the concerned authorities have to take strict action against it.
The owner and beef dealer, Rudolf Fernandes informed that there was no slaughtering activity happening in the area for the last more than 10 years now.
“Earlier it was going on but for the last more than 10 years, no such activity is happening here. We store the bones of slaughtered cattle and melt the fat. We have a shop. No slaughtering is going on here,” Fernandes maintained.
