Six Baba Biryani restaurants have reportedly been shut down by the district administration of Kanpur as part of a new crackdown on people responsible for the riots that broke out on June 3 following Friday prayers. Various outlets’ food samples were collected, brought to Agra for testing. Many of them were found to be unfit for human consumption, leading to the cancellation of their licences.

The Kanpur City District Magistrate explained to reporters that food samples from several restaurants had been collected and transported to Agra for analysis. Six stores’ samples included in the report were deemed to be unfit for ingestion by humans. Consequently, their licences have been revoked.

On Wednesday, the SIT investigating the Kanpur riots that broke out on June 3, jailed Mukhtar Baba, the owner of Baba Biryani. Accused Hayat Zafar Hashmi’s Kanpur-based NGO, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Fans Association, is said to have been supported by Mukhtar Baba.

On June 21, Kanpur Police found Mukhtar Baba, who had been missing since June 3. Joint Police Commissioner Anand Prakash Tiwari said that Mukhtar Baba’s name had featured in crowdfunding before the riots while announcing his arrest. Biryani was reportedly served by Mukhtar Baba to the stone-pelters and rioters on the day of the mayhem.

The Mukhtar Baba’s Biryani Baba restaurant is constructed illegally on the site of an old shrine. In the location listed in the government records as the Ram-Janaki temple, now there is a restaurant serving biryani. A Ram Janaki temple near the Bekanganj police station was sold by a Pakistani national. The relevant authorities recognised the problem and informed the buyer, Mukhtar Baba, of their decision.

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