Chandy warns Delhi Police, buff returns to Kerala House

Kerala House canteen only sold buffalo meat dish, called 'carabeef', not beef.

Thiruvananthapuram:  Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday threatened Delhi Police with legal action if it did not accept it erred in "raiding" the Kerala House in Delhi, as the popular buff dish made its way back on the menu and was sold out within an hour.

Chandy said after a cabinet meeting that his government was waiting for a response from Delhi Police over its Monday "raid" -- to check if beef was served in the Kerala House -- triggered a huge row.

"The action by Delhi Police was not acceptable," said Chandy, who has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act against the police force which reports to the central government.

"We will wait for some more time. If they do not own up their mistake, we will go ahead with legal steps," he said.

And Chandy, a Congress party veteran, thanked his Delhi and West Bengal counterparts, Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee, for denouncing the police "raid".

On Wednesday, around 100 Keralites gathered at Kerala House to condemn the police action that followed a concocted complaint by a fringe rightwing outfit, Hindu Sena, that beef was being served there.

It turned out that Kerala House canteen only sold buffalo meat dish, called 'carabeef', not beef.

A cornered Delhi Police arrested Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta for filing a false complaint. On Tuesday, Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi had called him a "miscreant".

Meanwhile, buffalo meat was the most sought after dish at Kerala House on Wednesday when it returned to the canteen after being taken off the menu on Monday.

Kerala House officials said 'carabeef' dishes were sold within an hour.

"Beef curry and beef fry usually get sold out by 2 p.m. But today they were sold out within an hour after lunch began to be served at 12.30," A.J. Santhosh, a member of the staff canteen managing committee, told IANS.

"As much as 15 kg of 'carabeef' is served twice a day in the canteen. There was heavy demand as both regular visitors and new visitors came to the canteen," he said.

Joint Commissioner of Police M.K. Meena told IANS that Gupta had been arrested on charges of, among others, joining an assembly of five or more people after being told to disperse.

Another police officer said Gupta was on police radar over several cases, and was accused of attacking former AAP leader Prashant Bhushan.

The police submitted a detailed report to the home ministry over the widely denounced Monday incident. But Commissioner Bassi declined to share its contents with the media.

There was, however, little relief for Delhi Police as Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called for Bassi's resignation.

"The raid by Delhi Police was completely illegal. Bassi has become a leader of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). He should resign or he should be sacked," AAP leader Ashutosh said.

Chief Minister Kejriwal also said that Delhi's Divisional Commissioner was probing the incident and that the Delhi government would take strict action based on his report.

IANS