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New Delhi: On June 24, Shaista, Shama and Fatima were busy with their chores at their home in Panara Gopalpur village, under the Sarai Akil police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district, when the police raided their house. Their target was the kitchen, where Shama was allegedly cooking “prohibited meat,” which the police claimed was beef. The personnel also confiscated meat from their refrigerator. 

All three women were arrested on suspicion of cooking cow meat under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, and produced before a magistrate, after which they were remanded to judicial custody (sent to jail).

However, it has not yet been confirmed if the meat was indeed beef or belonged to any other animal, as the forensic examination report of the seized meat remains pending. 

Meanwhile, the family of the accused alleges that a villager falsely implicated them due to a personal rivalry.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered at the Sarai Akil police station on June 24, 2026, a police team rushed to the spot after sub-inspector Jitendra Pratap Singh received information that beef was being cooked inside a house in Panara Gopalpur. An informant is said to have identified the house to the police and then left the spot. 

Four men allegedly fled from the house after the police arrived, say the FIR. Police could not catch them because the area was densely populated. Upon entering, the officials found that Shaista, Shama and Fatima were at home. 

The police claimed they recovered around one kilogram each of cooked and raw meat from the house. Samples were handed over to a team of veterinary officers for forensic analysis, while the remaining was buried in accordance with procedure.

The police lodged complaints under Sections 3, 5 and 8 of the Cow Slaughter (Prevention) Act, which prescribe rigorous imprisonment for three to ten years in cases of cow slaughter, as well as a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.

Shaista, Shama and Fatima in police custody with Shaista’s one-and-a-half-year-old child. Photo by arrangement.

The FIR also names Shama’s husband Mohammad Arshad, Shaista’s husband Mohammad Irfan, and Fatima’s husband Badku. Sunne, a resident of the neighbouring Khanpur village, is also named an accused. 

Shaista was taken into custody along with her one-and-a-half-year-old child.

‘The one who brought the meat informed the police’

Speaking to The Wire Hindi on condition of anonymity, a member of one of the accused’s families rejected the police’s version of events. They said that the person referred to as the “informant” in the FIR is the one who had brought the meat to the family. 

They said, “The individual behind this incident is a person from our village. He had bad intentions towards the women. When we stopped him from coming to our house, a dispute broke out between us.” Relations between the family and that individual had apparently improved........

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