Committee to check carcass meat sale

Kolkata: The state government has set up a high powered committee headed by Chief Secretary, Malay De, to immediately evolve a foolproof mechanism to bring an end to the menace of carcass meat sale.

After the discussion in this connection in the central level administrative review meeting held at Nabanna Sabhaghar on Tuesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: "A nine member high powered committee has been formed to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future."

The other eight members of the committee are Home Secretary Atri Bhattacharya, Director General of Police Surajit Kar Purkayastha,

Commissioner of Kolkata Police Rajeev Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of Panchayats and Rural Development Department and Principal Secretaries of Health department, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department, Food and Supplies department and Animal Resources Development (ARD) department.

Banerjee further said in this connection that people are now apprehensive to eat chicken and meat and many have even stopped consuming it.

"We want people to eat what they like and enjoy. Once the mechanism is devised, we will tell people that they can have their meat items without any fear," Chief Minister said adding that the carcass meat case was not limited within Bengal and it was spread outside the state as well. The police have done a good job as those involved in the racket have been arrested. The problem with chicken has also been resolved.

Sources said that there was discussion on the developments related to carcass meat scam in the administrative review meeting and she had enquired about it from Principal Secretary of ARD department, BP Gopalika.

It is also learnt that the Chief Minister spoke to the officials from the Consumer Affairs department to know about the other related matters.

Meanwhile, raids against the use of fungal-infected frozen chicken and carcass meat in eateries continued on Tuesday with officials visiting food stalls at Dum Dum and Chinar Park area.

In another important development in this connection, the police have come to know that the kingpin of the racket that used to sale carcass meat, Biswanath Ghorui, also used to supply a good quantity of the same to a businessman in New Market. The businessman is at large at present. The police have freezed two bank accounts of Ghorui which has around Rs 94 lakh.