Ahmedabad: A sessions court in the city sentenced a meat shop owner to seven years in jail and fined him ₹1 lakh for possessing beef on Tuesday. Beef is banned in Gujarat under the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act.

Mohammed Imran Qureshi, 33, who owns a mutton shop in Gomtipur, was found guilty after 13kg of beef was seized from his shop during a police raid on March 3, 2019. The prosecution alleged that Imran purchased 15kg of beef from Shabbir Hussain Qureshi at the Mirzapur mutton market, selling 2kg before the raid. While Shabbir was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, Imran was convicted based on testimony from six witnesses, including police officers, an FSL expert, and two panch witnesses, as well as the FSL report confirming the meat was cow beef.

During sentencing, additional sessions judge H.G. Pandya considered Imran’s financial responsibilities but ruled that the minimum punishment of seven years was appropriate. The law prescribes a sentence of 7–10 years for such offences. DeshGujarat