Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Aug 8: As the administration intensifies its crackdown on the circulation of rotten meat in Kashmir, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the operation was triggered by continuous tip-offs over time, enabling the department to piece together the supply chain.
The department said it is holding the names of all involved to avoid alerting the network, with Commissioner Smiti Sethi revealing that each raid leads to the next link in the chain.
Sethi said that upon taking charge, she began receiving scattered reports. “We traced the reports one by one and launched targeted raids,” she said.
The Commissioner said the raids, which began at a single location, have now expanded to multiple districts, including Ganderbal, Pulwama, Anantnag and Pampore and more.
“Each raid is taking us further up the chain. This is not an isolated incident but a continuing supply pattern we are uncovering,” she added.
On the delay in revealing names of those involved, Sethi clarified it is a “deliberate strategic move”. “We are not hiding anything, but revealing names prematurely could alert others in the network. We want to catch them all,” she said.
She added that proper records are being maintained, and once the full network is exposed, names and actions taken under the FSSAI Act will be made public. “This is about ensuring accountability without giving anyone a chance to escape,” the Commissioner said.
The crackdown has also reached Jammu, where around 800 kg of meat and chicken were destroyed in a single raid on Thursday, she said.
The FDA has already seized and destroyed over 3,500 kilograms of decomposed and unlabelled meat, indicating the presence of a deeper, organised network.
Earlier, officials said the meat was being stored and transported without proper cold-chain logistics or labelling, which poses a serious threat to public health.
