Around 500 meat shops, including an outlet of popular fast food chain KFC in Gurugram Sector-14, were forcibly closed down by men claiming to be Shiv Sena activists on Wednesday. They insisted that meat sale would not be allowed during Navratri, the nine-day festival when Hindus fast and eat only vegetarian food. The goons also warned shopkeepers against opening meat shops on Tuesday, a day when Hindus are not supposed to eat meat.
The Shiv Sena, however, alleged that the people involved in the incident were not its members. The men targeted shops 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 as most shopkeepers supported the move,” said one of the youths involved in the incident.
Gurugram Police officials, however, claimed that they have yet to receive any complaint from shopkeepers regarding this.
Hindus don’t eat meat on that day,” Ritu Raj, who claims to be the district spokesperson of the Shiv Sena, said.
“We handed over notices to shopkeepers selling meat asking them not to open their shops on Tuesdays and during Navratri. We won’t allow these shops to stay open during Navratri,” he added.
However, some meat shop owners say they don’t have a problem with the demands.
“We have no information regarding selling meat during Navratri. But we respect religious sentiments. So we have no objection in keeping our shop closed,” Tahir, a meat seller in Sector 12 in the city told The Pioneer.
The police, however asserted that action will be taken if any of the shopkeepers file a complaint. “It is illegal to shut shops forcefully. The Gurugram police have not issued any notice to shut meat selling shops during the occasion.
“We have not received any complaint regarding the issue from the shop owners. We will take strict action against the culprits as per the law, once we receive a complaint in this regard,” ACP, Manish Sehgal, the spokesperson of Gurugram Police said.