Tamil Nadu: A shocking incident of selling bat meat to customers by convincing them that it was chilli chicken has come to light in Salem district of Tamil Nadu. The shocking truth that bat meat was being sold instead of chicken in the name of the popular dish 'chilli chicken' has been revealed by an investigation by the police and the forest department.
In Salem district of Tamil Nadu, the authorities conducted a suspicious operation against two people who were selling 'chilli chicken' at a roadside food stall and seized a sample of the meat they were selling and gave it to experts for examination. Now, the investigation report has confirmed that it is bat meat. In this context, two people have been arrested. The arrested have been identified as 36-year-old Kamal and 35-year-old Selvam.
The arrested accused were mixing this bat meat with chicken meat in their roadside fast food stalls and selling it as chilli chicken. It is learnt that the duo caught bats from the forest, killed them and cooked the meat.
Bat meat poses a serious threat to human health. Several zoonotic viruses are hidden in the bodies of these bats. For example, Nipah virus, Ebola, Marburg etc. Preparing and selling such meat without proper processing is not only a crime, it directly poses a serious threat to public health.
The Food Safety Department is taking precautionary measures after this case came to light. The public has been warned not to repeat such an incident and awareness is being created to be careful about the quality of the food sold. It is also reported that the use of wild animal meat is illegal and strict legal action will be taken in this case.
At present, the two accused have been arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and have been remanded in judicial custody. Officials said that further investigations are underway to trace their possible links with the vast network of these hunters and traders.