3 sacks of decomposed flesh: Mystery chase lands Delhi cops at caterer's doorstep

New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) The mystery behind the recovery of three sacks of decomposed flesh in south Delhi’s upscale Malviya Nagar colony has been solved with a caterer admitting to disposing of goat slaughter waste irresponsibly, a police official said on Sunday.

Initially suspected to contain human or communally sensitive cattle body parts, the sacks’ contents turned out to be hides, bones and offal of goats that were slaughtered by the caterer to cook mutton for hundreds of guests at a mega wedding reception.

“We have managed to identify and reach the culprit,” said an aide of Deputy Commissioner of Police, South District, Ankit Chauhan.

The discovery of the three sacks – with blood oozing from them and stench of decomposed flesh hanging in the air – had caused a commotion in the area on April 21 with some residents speculating about it being a woman’s body and some searching for a communal angle in the episode by citing the dumping site’s proximity to a place of worship.

Malviya Nagar Police have now sought legal advice on proceeding in the case after registering an initial complaint of causing public nuisance, said an official.

The police said the questioning of the accused caterer revealed that he had been engaged to prepare food for a big reception in a village near Malviya Nagar colony, and the host had bought four-five goats, instead of skinned mutton, for the occasion.

The caterer, with the help of a local butcher, managed to use the mutton extracted from the goats for the feast, the police said.

“After the party was over, the host asked the caterer and his staff to take away the offal and hides. The caterer’s staff packed the waste in sacks but dumped them at the secluded spot near a primary school in Malviya Nagar,” said an investigator.

The discovery of the sacks has even sparked a political tussle with former area legislator of Aam Aadmi Party, Somnath Bharti, linking it to the alleged deterioration in law and order in the city after the formation of a BJP government in Delhi.

“Three bags of flesh and oozing blood are found in Malviya Nagar, even after 5 hours @DelhiPoliceofficials are clueless about these bags, while Malviya Nagar residents are saying that the bags are full human body parts, police is suspecting that they are animal body parts,” he had said in a tweet, questioning the absence of the new MLA.

On April 21, the local police rushed reinforcements to the spot, fearing trouble due to a huge buildup of crowd and inflammatory speeches by local leaders.

Area legislator Satish Upadhyay of the BJP also reached the spot in the evening and complimented the Delhi Police for their deft handling of the situation.

Soon after removing the sacks from the spot, the flesh samples were sent for forensic tests, which confirmed them to be goat meat waste, said a police official, hinting that they used CCTV footage to narrow down on the culprit.

--IANS

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