KOCHI: Over 50 hotels and restaurants operating in various parts of Ernakulam district had procured meat from a supplier who was booked for preserving stale chicken meat and oil at a house in Kalamassery. This was revealed when Kalamassery police on Tuesday carried out a search at the house from where the stale meat was recovered last week.
The police on Tuesday opened the house and conducted a search in the presence of Kalamassery municipality health officials. “We recovered bill books and registers from the house. The bill books has details of hotels and retailers who procured the chicken meat. After going through the seized documents, it is revealed that the accused persons were the main supplier of chicken meat to hotels in Kochi and other parts of the district,” P R Santhosh, Station House Officer, Kalamassery Police Station said.
The accused Junais O of Mannarkkad and Nissar Marakkar of Kalamassery are still absconding. Another officer at Kalamassery police station said that over 50 hotels and retailers were regular customers of the meat stored at the house in Kalamassery.
“They were supplying meat to hotels in Aluva, Angamaly, Kalamassery, Edappally and Thrikkakara area. They called it as ready-to-cook chicken. They supplied the meat at a 50% discount to the retail price of chicken. Junais procured these chicken from Hyderabad and transported it to Kochi by train,” a police officer said.
Following complaints from the residents about a stinky smell, Kalamassery Municipality carried out an inspection at a house located at Kaippadamukul in Kalamassery on January 12. During the search, officials recovered 500 kgs of stale chicken meat, 15 kgs of wings and other chicken parts inside three freezers at the house. Similarly, stale edible oil was also found in the house.
Based on the complaint by Kalamassery Municipality Secretary, Kalamassery Police registered a case against Junais and Nissar who were running the meat-supplying business after stocking meat in the house.
The case was registered under IPC sections 269 (an unlawful or negligent act which is likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) and 273 (sale of stale food or drink).