Fact Check: News report on TV stating Bengaluru meat trader mixed dog meat with sheep meat was found to be false

On July 26, 2024, Puneeth Kerehalli from a Hindu organization and his group claimed that dog meat had been mixed with sheep meat brought by train from Rajasthan by Abdul Razzak, a meat trader in Bengaluru.

A verbal dispute occurred between Razzak and Puneeth's team at Sangolli Rayanna railway station in Majestic, Bengaluru. The police intervened, managed the situation, and arrested several individuals, including Puneet Kerehalli.

Simultaneously, officials from the Food Safety and Quality Department of BBMP collected a sample of the meat. The department's commissioner stated that if any irregularities were discovered, appropriate legal action would be taken.

"4,500 kg of dog meat was transported in 120 boxes on the Jaipur-Mysore Express train that reached Bengaluru. This meat is allegedly being sold at butcher shops owned by Abdul Razak. Puneeth Kerehalli and his team have accused that hundreds of boxes of this meat are brought in daily to Bengaluru.”

Following these accusations, the right-wing YouTube channel TV Vikrama aired a program inciting communal hatred, claiming that "Muslim traders are deceiving Hindus by serving dog meat" and that Muslims themselves were raising funds to support this practice.

The anchor of TV Vikrama reported that previously only cows were considered unsafe in the state, but now even dogs are not safe. According to the anchor, Abdul Razzak and his gang have resorted to stealing pet dogs from homes after running out of stray dogs, in order to sell dog meat.

FACT CHECK

The viral claim is false.

Puneeth Kerehalli and his team have claimed that Abdul Razzak brought goat meat from Rajasthan to Bengaluru, and the allegation that dog meat was mixed in it is untrue. Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwar himself has verified this information.

In a statement to the press, the Home Minister stated, "Meat traders bring meat from Rajasthan every week, once in 15 days, or as required, and sell it. We will take action against those who create unnecessary commotion with malicious intent."

As per the state's Home Minister, the laboratory report has confirmed that the meat from Rajasthan was indeed goat meat and not dog meat. Therefore, the question arises as to why the TV Vikrama team is spreading false news.

The Meat Species Identification Laboratory (MSIL) at the Livestock Products Testing and Certification Laboratory, which is affiliated with the National Meat Research Institute in Hyderabad, has verified that the raw meat samples provided by the officials of the Food Safety and Standards Department in Bengaluru contain sheep meat.

On July 31, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao announced on X that in response to recent media reports about the transportation of mutton and other animal meat from Rajasthan to Bengaluru via train, a comprehensive investigation was initiated for scientific validation.

To guarantee precision, 84 parcels were dispatched to the ICAR-National Meat Research Institute in Hyderabad for thorough laboratory examination. Following extensive testing, the laboratory findings have definitively established that the meat under scrutiny is sourced from sheep. This outcome dispels any uncertainties or false information related to the matter.

Hence, the viral claim is false. The meat which is seized at Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station in Bengaluru is not dog meat.