Gururgam: Four days after Hindu Sena men, armed with rods, sticks, and swords, forced meat shops to close in wake of the Navratri, Gurugram police have arrested another two accused, including a history-sheeter with 19 cases registered against him.
The duo has been identified as Rajesh and Pramod. Rajesh, earlier, has been booked under 420 (theft), 120 (criminal conspiracy) 279 (rash driving), 337 (endangering the safety of others) of the Indian penal code.
Earlier the law enforcement officials had arrested Rakesh and Mohit in the case and were charged under sections 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 25-54-59 of the arms act.
While the police continue to cracks down on the rogue elements, most of the citizens have defied the meat ban in the city. There are shops and restaurants which are selling their inventories as a sizable number of customers are coming to buy non-vegetarian items.
However, certain big shops, which are registered with Gurugram meat market union, have closed their shutter for Navratri and have also announced that their shops will be closed on every Tuesday.
Owners of these meat units have maintained that they have taken this decision out of respect for religious sentiments than fear of rogue outfits.
"Some of my colleagues decided to not open their shops during Navratras as they felt it was not appropriate for them to hurt the religious sentiments. But, I have decided to open my shop as I have been getting customers from all religious communities. Ultimately it depends upon your choice and intent. Who are we to hurt any one's religious sentiments," said Shakib who operates a meat shop near Jama Masjid in Sadar Bazaar area.
Additionally, most of the small meat shops have decided not to buckle under fear, and continue with their business. At the Sikanderpur meat mandi, there are meat units open even in scorching heat. "We do not have proper space for selling our items. For many, the place may be unhygienic and dirty. But, the Sikanderpur Mandi has its loyal customers. The meat sellers over here have not buckled under the fear of powerful builders. How can we be cowed down by few rogue elements?" said Tariq.
Not far from the meat mandi, the famous roadside Biryani restaurants were also functioning in Sikanderpur area. "We have been getting a lot of customers even during Navratras. Even though there is a slight reduction at the end of the day, we still break even during Navratras," said Ashfaq, an employee at Al-Shaifa Biryani restaurant.