Burqa-clad woman dumped meat at Brahmin area on Eid not Muslim

Mumbai: A controversy that erupted in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar after meat was found in a garbage dump in a predominantly Brahmin neighbourhood on Eid has taken a new turn, with police concluding that the burqa-clad woman seen in CCTV footage disposing of the meat was not a Muslim.

The discovery of the meat on the festival day triggered protests by some local residents and led to concerns over a possible communal flare-up. Municipal authorities alerted the police, who intervened and brought the situation under control.

Police said an investigation was launched immediately after the complaint was received. CCTV footage from the area showed a woman wearing a burqa dumping meat near the garbage site. Investigators then examined footage from around 150 CCTV cameras installed across different parts of the city and questioned several individuals who were seen with the suspect.

After a 14-day investigation, police identified the woman as Swati Vikram Bhosale, a resident of Kamar village in Ahmednagar taluk. According to police, she stated during questioning that she survives through begging and had been seeking alms in Muslim localities while wearing a burqa on Eid. She reportedly told investigators that someone had given her the meat and that she later discarded it in the Brahman Galli area.

The explanation has been questioned by leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, who described it as unsatisfactory and suspicious. They have demanded a wider probe into the reasons behind the disposal of the meat in a Brahmin locality and whether others were involved.

Police said the investigation is continuing and that all possible angles are being examined.