UP: Sambhal administration bans animal slaughter in public places during Bakri Eid

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03-06-2025

The administration in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district on Tuesday announced that slaughtering of animals will not be permitted in public places during the Muslim festival of Bakri Eid and warned of strict action against anyone attempting to 'disturb public order', PTI reported.
Bakri Eid, also known as Eid-al-Adha, commemorates the spirit of sacrifice and entails the slaughtering of goats.
The festival will be celebrated on June 7.
A meeting of a peace committee, which includes representatives from localities where Eid prayers would be conducted, was held to discuss the arrangements in Sambhal ahead of the festival, PTI reported.
'All stakeholders were consulted,' the news agency quoted District Magistrate Rajender Pensiya as telling reporters. 'Sacrifices will be allowed only at 19 pre-identified sites. No public or open space will be used for animal sacrifice.'
Pensiya added that preventive measures were also in place against about 950 persons. 'Any attempt to breach the peace will be met with strict legal action,' he said.
Religious leaders had been advised to complete sacrificial rituals before 3 pm between June 7 and June 9, the district magistrate said. He also issued a warning against uploading videos of animals being sacrificed on social media.
Sambhal was the site of the violence that broke out on November 24 after a group of Muslims objected to a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi town.
A trial court had ordered the survey in a lawsuit claiming that the mosque had been built in 1526 by Mughal ruler Babar on the site of the 'centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki'.
Five persons were killed in the violence during the survey.
In March, the police in the district had issued orders prohibiting prayers on streets or rooftops ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Fitr. Several other districts in the state had issued similar orders.
Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Goseva Ayog, a commission set up for cattle welfare, on May 27 ordered livestock markets in the state not to operate between June 3 and June 8.
A circular issued to Agriculture Produce Market Committees stated that no livestock markets should be held in any district in the period to ensure that no illegal slaughter of bovines takes place during Bakri Eid.