Around 300 meat shops, including an outlet of popular fast food chain KFC in Gurugram Sector-14, were forcibly closed down by activists who claimed to be Shiv Sena members on Wednesday morning. They claimed that meat sale will not be allowed during Navratri, the nine-day Hindu fasting festival where followers only eat vegetarian food.
The protesters also want the shops to be closed every Tuesday, a day when Hindus are not supposed to eat meat. Gurugram Police officials, however, claimed that they have yet to receive any complaint from shopkeepers regarding this.
Protesters targeted shops selling non-vegetarian food in Sadar Bazar, DlF, Sushant lok, Sohna Road, Badshahpur, Rajiv Nagar, Sanjay Gram, New Railway Road, Palam Vihar, Rajendra Park, and Vishnu Garden Colony, Sector 9, Sector 12 and Sector 14.
“We didn’t close any shop forcefully. Most of the shopkeepers had supported the move. It does not feel good to see meat being sold and served during Navratri and on Tuesdays. Hindus don’t eat meat on that day,” Ritu Raj, who claims to be the district spokesperson of the Shiv Sena, said.