By TwoCircles.net staff Reporter,
Hyderabad: Bharatiya Prani Mitra Sangh (BPMS), along with Hyderabad Police stopped the sale of nearly 140 camels brought in the city for slaughtering during Ramzan.
Camels which are voluntarily brought by traders mainly from Rajasthan used to be sold annually during Ramzan season at Narisingi market near Golconda fort at the outskirts of Hyderabad.
BPMS has filed a complaint that an illegal trade of camels is taking place in Cyberabad police limits, which are sold for slaughtering to unlicensed butchers in Ramzan, an act illegal under the provisos of Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act 1960.
City police got alerted and stopped all the operations of market. BPMS claimed that nine traders who brought those camels from central western India was informed about the law on prohibition of camel slaughter, and was allowed to return back to their home towns in police escort accompanied with some animal rights activists.
In the tradition of the city, camels were used ritually to be decorated to be taken out in small procession in Muslim localities after completion of every Ashra (10 days) of Ramzan, and then to be slaughtered and sold near beef shops for local residents to buy the camel meat which is rarely available in the South India.
After the police action local Muslims, especially butcher community, is facing heat, and are trying to hide already bought in camels. Taher Qureshi one such butcher from the city which use to do annual camel meat business during Ramzan informed TCN that Qureshi community butchers who have already purchased camels for slaughtering are hiding them fearing police seizures as widely happened during Eid-ul-Adha festival on cow or bull trade.
Many butchers, according to him, are planning to do their trade deep inside Muslim localities especially in old city and not on main roads of new city as was the norm of last year. He said that butchers are inclined to indulge in camel meat trade even after police action, due to the local demand in the session and the amount of sale and profit it carries during Ramzan.