Case against Pune's Central Food Lab

Barwani, MP, Aug 6 (UNI) The district police today initiated proceedings against the Pune-based Central Food Laboratory Director on the charge of fraudulent analysis and showing cow flesh as 'buffalo flesh'.

''Cow flesh was systematically smuggled at national level as buffalo flesh. The Lab claimed that samples sent by police were buffalo flesh. A case was registered under section 201 of IPC ''Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar Mathur said here.

Action was also initiated for cancelling export licenses of two firms in Mumbai for involvement in smuggling cow flesh as buffalo flesh.

''Six containers containing 96 tonnes of flesh were seized on February 3 in this district's Nagalwadi Police Station limits.

Analysis at a lab in Gandhinagar revealed beef in three containers and cow and buffalo flesh in the others,'' the officer told UNI.

As per a court order, samples were preserved and rest of the flesh destroyed. The Mumbai firms that owned the containers obtained the court order for analysing the samples at Pune. Police sent the samples on April 24.

After the report claimed 'buffalo flesh', police sent a dead cow's sample seized by the veterinary officer after obtaining court permission -- with the intention of exposing the Lab that again analysed it as 'buffalo flesh'.

Following tip-offs by Hindu organisations, more than 100 containers of flesh were seized in Barwani, Dhar, Shajapur and some other districts in western Madhya Pradesh. Widespread demonstrations followed.

UNI XC AC ATI BST1917