West Bengal meat scam: Mamata Banerjee people not to panic, assures 'stern action' against accused

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday urged the people of the state not to panic over the carcass meat scandal, and said strict action would be taken against the culprits. [caption id=“attachment_4406609” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI[/caption] “We have already formed a high-powered committee . I have asked the police to take stern action against the culprits involved in the scam,” Banerjee said, during an interview to a Bengali TV Channel ‘Zee 24 Ghanta’. The alarm over the carcass meat racket in West Bengal prompted the state government to form the high-powered committee for keeping a check on such malpractices. An eight-member committee, headed by chief secretary Malay De, will devise a mechanism to deal with the issue, the chief minister had said earlier in the week. The police recently busted the racket involved in supplying decomposed meat from dumping grounds to restaurants in and around the city. Meanwhile, the West Bengal CID on Friday arrested one person for his alleged involvement in the racket, and seized nearly six tonnes of meat from a cold storage in Kolkata, a senior official of the agency said. With the latest arrest, a total of 12 people have been held in connection with the scandal, including a leader of a political outfit. Acting on a tip-off, the SIT formed by the CID to look into the case, nabbed the man from the Belaghata area this morning, and upon questioning, learnt about the cold storage on Canal West Road.