Beef allegations at wedding: 7 arrested, UP banquet hall sealed

3 min readLucknowUpdated: Jun 24, 2026 09:39 PM IST

The sealing of the banquet hall was carried out on Tuesday by the Muzaffarnagar Development Authority. (Express photo)

Seven persons have been arrested and a banquet hall was sealed in Kairana town of Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district after it was alleged that a cow was slaughtered and its meat was served at a walima (wedding reception) during the function last week, officials said.

Those arrested were identified as Farman whose walima was held, banquet hall manager Anees Ahmad, Khalil Faridi, who allegedly prepared the meat, and Furkan, Ashfaq and Zulfikar.

The sealing of the banquet hall was carried out on Tuesday by the Muzaffarnagar Development Authority (MDA) which also issued a notice to its owner following an inspection of the premises where the reception event was held on June 18.

The authorities are looking into possible violations linked to the property’s construction and use, it is learnt.

Kairana falls under the jurisdiction of the Muzaffarnagar Development Authority which initiated the action after being informed by Shamli police about the alleged incident at the venue.

“So far, we have not received any response to the notice. The banquet hall has been sealed,” said MDA Executive Engineer Vineet Kumar Agarwal.

In the notice, the banquet hall owner has been asked to submit the sanctioned building map and other relevant documents related to the property, an MDA official said.

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According to police, they received information on June 18 about the alleged slaughter of a cow in thickets near Khurgan village. A police team was dispatched to the site, where they reportedly found bloodstains, they claimed.

During a search of the surrounding area, they recovered animal remains from a pit located nearby, leading to the registration of a case.

Near the spot, police found tyre marks, which were sent for examination. Police said the examination suggested that the tracks had been left by an SUV, leading police to suspect that such a vehicle had been used to transport the meat.

Police then collected footage from CCTV cameras installed in the surrounding area. In the footage, police spotted an SUV passing through the area late at night but the vehicle’s registration number was not visible.

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To identify the vehicle, police reviewed footage from other cameras along the route. In one of the recordings, the driver was seen applying the brakes, causing the rear lights to illuminate. The brief flash of light made the number plate visible, allowing police to identify the vehicle number and take the investigation forward.

After identifying the registration number, police traced the vehicle. During a search of the SUV, officials reportedly noticed a strong smell of meat inside and found small pieces of meat that appeared to have fallen from some containers.

Police seized the vehicle and later found that it had been gifted to Farman by his in-laws at the time of his wedding on June 16. During questioning, Farman admitted that he along with Salman and two other associates caught the bovine and slaughtered it, police claimed.

The forensic examination report of the meat remains is awaited.

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“Efforts are on to trace four more accused,” said Shamli Superintendent of Police Narendra Pratap Singh.