Men Drink, Cook Meat on Burning Funeral Pyre in UP; Arrested

A man was arrested for allegedly cooking meat over a burning funeral pyre in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district, police said on Monday. Two of his associates reportedly fled the cremation site and remain at large. The incident took place at Natthapur village under the Puwayan police station area, Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Diksha Bhavre told PTI.

According to police, the father of a man identified as Veerpal had died, after which his family and villagers performed the last rites at a cremation site located outside the village before returning home.

“When Veerpal went to the cremation site on Sunday evening, he found three men allegedly cooking meat in a utensil on his father’s burning funeral pyre,” Bhavre said.

Veerpal immediately alerted the police, following which a team rushed to the spot. Officers arrested one of the three men, identified as Surendra, while his two alleged accomplices managed to escape.

“Veerpal informed the police, following which a team reached the spot and arrested one of the accused, identified as Surendra. His two associates managed to escape,” the officer said.

During questioning, Surendra allegedly told police that the trio had been drinking alcohol at the site when they noticed the burning pyre and decided to cook meat over it, Bhavre said.

Police subsequently sent Surendra to jail, while efforts were underway to locate and arrest the two men who allegedly fled the scene.