Police in Uttar Pradesh arrested a man on Monday and seized large amount of beef from a utility vehicle which he was driving.

The police had stopped the vehicle coming from Bhargain area and seized the meat in Kotwali Dehat area reacting on a tip-off.
 

Slaughter of cow, bullock, ox is banned in the state.  Even storing, eating beef is punishable with 7 years of jail and/or Rs 10,000 fine.

Incidentally, while Rajendra Singh was arrested, one Bhura suspected to be a businessman transporting the meat for sale, managed to escape in another vehicle.

The driver reportedly told the police that the meat was of the cow and was being transported to Delhi.

The arrested claimed that the absconding was the main person involved in this business but could not furnish any more details, police said.

Police said that they have seized the vehicle and were searching for Bhura's accomplice, Bashir, who is a resident of Etawah district.

Beef has been a contentious issue in recent times in the country with states like Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh banning the meat.

A man in Uttar Pradesh was murdered by a mob over rumors of him consuming beef last year.

Slaughter of cow is banned in most of India; the consumption of their meat is also largely prohibited.

Only West Bengal, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim do not have any restrictions.