Assam ADGP tangles into 'beef delivery' controversy
- Jul 17, 2021,
- Updated Jul 17, 2021, 12:21 AM IST
GUWAHATI: Assam's Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Harmeet Singh has faced a backlash on Twitter after he responded to an account urging for a ban on online beef delivery in Guwahati.
On July 15, a user named Voice of Assam (@VoiceOfAxom), took to Twitter and wrote, "Swiggy delivering beef in Guwahati & now it shows up in my recommendation list. Why?"
"Hey @swiggy_in stop delivering beef," the user added, tagging Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and ADGP Singh.
In response to this, ADGP Singh wrote, "Pls DM details of the eatery."
Meanwhile, Swiggy has removed all the beef items from its menu, and so did Zomato.
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It needs mention here that the account 'Voice of Assam' was suspended by Twitter during the Assam Legislative polls for 'violating Twitter norms' and spreading 'misinformation'. It is worth mentioning that the account is being followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
This tweet coming from a highly placed police official has made Twitterati furious and started a massive social media outrage.
"Is beef banned in Assam? When did such a law get enacted?," asked a user (@gogoideo) in response to which another user (@mridulmahanta) wrote, "Oh! This probably is code red... Code saffron to be precise. Seems khaki is painted saffron too. It's dangerous how an anonymous Twitter handle gets a senior police official to respond."
Another user wrote, "A tiger come across a deer" and urged him to act as a 'public servant' instead of serving a 'self-centered govt."
Asked by InsideNE if he was going to take any action on online beef selling, Harmeet Singh, who was appointed as Guwahati Police Commissioner recently, said, "We have to ensure public peace and tranquility. When I take over, you can come over and visit me, and then we can check."
On Beef controversy:
Selling and eating beef have become a very sensitive matter in the state of Assam after the CM Himanta Biswa introduced 'The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021' on the first day of the ongoing Assam Legislative Assembly Session.
The bill introduced by the CM has put a restriction on the selling and purchasing of beef in areas “predominantly inhabited by Hindu, Jain, Sikh and other non-beef-eating communities”, or “within a radius of 5 km” of any temple or sattra.
When the bill is yet to be passed and enacted as an act, the response from a higher police official regarding the same did not go down well with many.