Why did the Central Bureau of Investigation raid the Animal Welfare Board of India?

[Guest guest]

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2007:

 

 

Why did the Central Bureau of Investigation raid the Animal Welfare

Board of India?

 

 

CHENNAI, MUMBAI, MYSORE, DELHI, THIRUVANATHAPURAM--One of

the noisiest and farthest-reaching scandals in the often

controversial 47-year history of the Animal Welfare Board of India

may prove to be less about corruption and bribery, when the Central

Bureau of Investigation concludes months of digging, than about

pursuit of mostly symbolic tribute by some AWBI appointees, and

redress of injured pride by some who have been rebuked.

Disputes over the allocation of grant money, partisan

politics, and enforcement of laws governing livestock transportation

and slaughter have become involved.

Yet--from statements and copies of inside correspondence

obtained by ANIMAL PEOPLE--pursuit of public stature and vengeance

for past frustrations and humiliations appears to have most visibly

motivated the persons whose charges instigated CBI raids on several

animal welfare organizations, the homes of their officers, and the

Animal Welfare Board of India offices in Chennai.

Some of the instigators--or persons who claim to be

instigators--are seething over having been berated or denounced by

People for Animals founder, former cabinet minister for animal

welfare, member of Parliament, and longtime Animal Welfare Board

member Maneka Gandhi, who has notoriously little patience with

vanity and self-aggrandizement. Yet none of the allegations

investigated by the CBI directly involve Maneka Gandhi, or any

organization she heads.

Some complainants have disputes with other ranking AWBI

members, who are not aligned with Maneka Gandhi. And the

allegations forwarded to the CBI appear to have been hurled not as a

conspiracy so much as a matter of complainants with a variety of only

casually related grievances suddenly perceiving a chance to pursue

them.

Along the way, some complainants hit each other. For every

person who joined in the attack, mostly through electronic media,

several others who have had public conflicts with Maneka Gandhi and

other targets of the CBI raids e-mailed to ANIMAL PEOPLE to distance

themselves from the whole affair.

Caught in the middle, with the membership of the Animal

Welfare Board and his own position due for reappointment, is Animal

Welfare Board president R.M. Kharb, a retired general who decades

ago was veterinarian to both Sonia Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. Both

married sons of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Sonia and Maneka Gandhi, each widowed long ago, were

reputedly never friends even when both lived in Indira Gandhi's

household.

Sonia Gandhi is now president of the Indian National

Congress, leader of the Congress Party, and chair of the United

Progressive Alliance, the governing Parlia-mentary coalition.

Maneka Gandhi, a member of the Bharatija Janata Party, was

the dominant figure within the Animal Welfare Board while the BJP

headed the Parliamentary majority.

Kharb was named to head the Animal Welfare Board after the

UPA displaced the BJP. Though the Animal Welfare Board is nominally

non-partisan, political patronage has often figured in the board

composition. Under Kharb, the Animal Welfare Board delegated more

responsibilities to UPA insiders, and reduced the prominence and

influence of the People for Animals network, widely perceived as

Maneka Gandhi's support base, although the many chapters function

almost completely autonomously. Some PfA chapters have alleged that

promised grants from the Animal Welfare Board have been delayed by as

much as two years, though ANIMAL PEOPLE found no consistent pattern

in a poll of about 20 PfA organizations.

 

S.K. Mittal

 

Among the UPA supporters whom Kharb most trusted was Mysore

businessman S.K. Mittal, a first-time Animal Welfare Board appointee

with relatively little background in animal welfare. Mittal was put

in charge of AWBI business in the states of Kerala and Karnataka.

When the Supreme Court of India asked the AWBI to inspect the

slaughterhouses in Kerala and submit a report, in response to a

lawsuit brought by vegetarian activist Laxmi Narain Modi, Mittal was

delegated to do the inspections.

Mittal visited 15 slaughterhouses in just four days.

" On the 5th of January 2007 he started his whirlwind

inspection tour with heavy fanfare, press meetings, and police

escort, " alleged veterinarian John " Jose " Yohanan, who complained

about Mittal's conduct to the Animal Welfare Board. " He claimed that

he was the 'Supreme Court Commission' and asked for government guest

houses, a government car, police guard and police escort. Animal

Husbandry Department and local officials were supposed to be at his

beck and call. "

Yohanan questioned whether Mittal actually did any serious

inspecting, given the distances covered on his itinerary, the

amount of time he spent in meetings and press conferences, and the

many misspelled or misidentified place names in Mittal's report.

Yohanan further questioned whether Mittal visited several

slaughterhouses at all, claiming fellow veterinarians had not been

able to confirm his presence.

" The Mittal Commission Report opens with a color photo of the

gentleman and a bombastic biography, " Yohanan wrote. A copy of the

report forwarded by Mittal himself confirmed that the lengthy bio

included-- among other trivia--a list of prominent people whom Mittal

said he had shaken hands with.

The two-part report offers checklists of concerns about

slaughterhouses, and brief descriptions of what Mittal saw.

Ten times Mittal wrote, " Condition of slaughterhouse is very

poor, unhygenic & violating all the norms. No separate enclosures

for slaughtering. Waste management system is not proper.

Destination of disposal of carcasses is not known. Illegal

slaughterhouses found in the surroundings. "

Five times Mittal wrote, " Since there is no registered

slaughterhouse, illegal slaughtering flourishes. There was

slaughtering of cattle also and were found selling beef. The cattle

were slaughtered just in front of the stalls. Most of these stalls

are in the heart of the city & in residential areas. Very ugly scene

& no action initiated by the civic authorities. "

But the size and flamboyance of Mittal's entourage--whom he

named in an e-mail to ANIMAL PEOPLE--ensured that there were plenty

of witnesses to his at least fleeting presence at each

slaughterhouse. ANIMAL PEOPLE obtained confirmation of Mittal's

visits from independent witnesses.

The entourage was necessary, Mittal asserted, because " At

one place I went without escort and faced life attack and my car was

totally smashed by miscreants. "

Added Mittal, " How much time you feel that one has to spend

in one slaughterhouse visit? Thirty minutes, one hour. "

Yohanan had further complaints.

" A colleague of mine told me that the AWBI through their

member S.K. Mittal allowed the Kakkur Cattle Race, " on February 25,

2007, Yohanan wrote. The race, held for more than 120 years, has

long been controversial for alleged abuse of cattle.

" One of my fellow vets who was a dumb witness wrote me that

it was only because of Mittal that the race took place, " Yohanon

alleged. " At first Mittal asked for certificates [of health] from

cattle owners and announced to the media that there would not be any

race. Soon ex-minister T.M.Jacob, who is the patron of the race,

sent someone to talk to him, " and the race began, despite a protest

march by opponents.

Video of the race affirmed Mittal's presence, but did not

show the award ceremony, at which Yohanan alleged--from second-hand

testimony--that Mittal was on the dais.

Responded Mittal, " As AWBI member in charge of the Karnataka

and Kerala Regional Sub Committee of AWBI, I received information

that the Kakkur Cattle Race attracts hundreds of participants from

different parts of Kerala and nearby states. Though there is no ban

on cattle races, we do have cattle transportation rules. I informed

the district administration, the SPCA Ernakulam, and Animal

Husbandry Department officials, and went myself to initiate proper

action if any violation was noticed.

" T.C. Jacob welcomed and requested me to address gathering, "

Mittal said, " and he also appreciated the AWBI taking action. "

 

Alligators

 

Yohanan further asserted that, " S.K.Mittal made a visit to

the Kerala capital, " Thiruvanathapuram, " on May 3, " after Maneka

Gandhi visited to support the Animal Rights Kerala street dog

sterilization program. The program had been interrupted by a dispute

between ARK and the city over the municipal practice of killing dogs

who have already been sterilized. According to Yohanan, Mittal

approved of the Thiruvanathapuram practices and offered the city AWBI

funding.

" Mittal then went to the house of Mrs. Leila Latheef of

People for Animals- Trivandrum, and went to the PfA shelter, "

Yohanan wrote. " The shelter was already inspected by Mittal himself

earlier, and later by the vice chairman of the Animal Welfare Board.

He called the vice chairman a criminal and accused him of receiving

favors. He asked Mrs. Latheef to meet him personally in his room

after 8 p.m. with the utilization certificate, which she refused to

do. "

Latheef also complained to the AWBI about Mittal's visit.

" He was very rude to us when he inspected us and we sent a

written complaint against him, " Latheef affirmed to ANIMAL PEOPLE,

accusing Mittal of " conspiring with the city to demoralise PfA. "

E-mailed Mittal, " All the allegations were found baseless

and without any truth. Now the [Animal Welfare] Board has decided

that if any allegations against members are lodged and found false,

the board will take legal action against the alligator [sic]. "

Mittal later corrected his phrasing, after ANIMAL PEOPLE

noted the error, but added that the people accusing him and the

editor of ANIMAL PEOPLE are " worse than alligators. "

The next allegations against members of the AWBI appear to

have come from Mittal himself.

" In July 2007 the Central Bureau of Investigation raided the

office of the AWBI on a complaint filed by Mittal, " an AWBI member

told ANIMAL PEOPLE, " and took away files. The secretary kept this

matter hidden on the instructions of Mittal. "

Copies of the CBI report about the July raid show no

indication that any wrongdoing was found. ANIMAL PEOPLE also

obtained copies of police receipts showing that some Animal Welfare

Board documents were seized even earlier, in mid-June.

The CBI investigation became public knowledge after a second

series of raids began on September 28, 2007, hitting the Blue Cross

of India head office in Chennai and the Chennai homes of three Animal

Welfare Board senior officials.

New Indian Express writer K. Praveen Kumar alleged on

September 29, 2007, citing an unnamed " senior CBI official, " that

" The CBI anti-corruption bureau reportedly unearthed a major grant

misappropriation scam, " and " suspects the involvement of " the Blue

Cross.

But the only published reports about the raids at that point

were by Kumar.

And Blue Cross of India chief executive Chinny Krishna, a

past member of the Animal Welfare Board, had not been a member in

three and a half years--not within Kharb's tenure as board president.

 

Naresh Kadyan

 

The Kumar articles were promptly posted to animal advocacy

web sites around the world, with commentary by Naresh Kadyan of

PfA-Haryana, and later by Mittal.

Kadyan was once included in the national PfA network, but

Maneka Gandhi broke off relations with him after he repeatedly

accused others of corruption in which he himself was later alleged to

have been involved.

Most prominently, police in Jhajjar on June 3, 2005

recovered two guns, ammunition, and the remains of two rabbits and

a legally protected blackbuck from a car occupied by former Indian

national cricket team captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and several of

his friends. Notified of the find, Maneka Gandhi dispatched Kadyan

to recover the blackbuck carcass and take it to the Delhi Zoo for

forensic necropsy.

On June 22, 2005 Narendra Kaushik of the Mumbai Mirror

published Kadyan's claim that Pataudi's son, actor Saif Ali Khan,

had tried to bribe him from giving testimony. Kaushik also published

Khan's denial.

Unclear, inasmuch as Kadyan's role in the case was only as a

courier of evidence, and since the primary evidence had already been

examined and documented by the Jhajjar police, was why bribing

Kadyan--even if it had been done--might have had any effect on the

outcome.

But Kadyan has milked his part for considerable publicity,

and has styled himself in updates about the Pataudi prosecution

posted to the Asian Animal Protection Network as " Whistle blower of

the poaching case. "

More about the alleged bribery attempt surfaced from Puneet

Nicholas Yadav of the Mumbai Daily News & Analysis on November 19,

2006.

" Wildlife activist Naresh Kadyan, a witness in the case,

wants to help Pataudi - but for a price, " Yadav wrote. Tipped that

Kadyan was seeking fundraising help from Pataudi and Khan, Yadav

posed as a go-between, and with the source of the tip, " met

Kadyan, " Yadav recounted.

" When asked how his withdrawal from the case would help

Pataudi, Kadyan said, 'I am the key witness. Once I withdraw, the

case would fall apart.' When asked about how it was possible for him

to revert on his statement in court, given that he has been

appearing in the case from the beginning, Kadyan said, 'Everything

can be bought. Leave that to me.' "

Kadyan also admitted, according to Yadav, that he had never

spoken to the middleman he named in the alleged attempt by Khan to

bribe him, and that the man " was unnecessarily dragged into the case

due to his proximity to Maneka Gandhi, whom Kadyan wanted to

'destroy.' "

" I no longer work with Maneka since she is hogging publicity

due to her work as a wildlife activist while I am not getting any

benefit. Even I want name, fame and money. Why should Maneka walk

away with all the credit? " Kadyan reportedly told Yadav.

When Yadav identified himself and asked for comment, Kadyan

said, " I do have a soft corner for Pataudi, given the fact that he

has served the country. If Pataudi agrees to leave consuming

non-vegetarian food and promises never to hunt animals again, my

stand in the case may change. "

Kadyan " dodged questions on what he meant by 'changing his

stand in the case,' " Yadav wrote.

On July 25, 2007, Kadyan e-mailed to news media, " I Naresh

Kadyan here demand that PFA Trust managed by Maneka Gandhi also be

placed under CBI net, " along with a list of PfA affiliates in which

she is involved.

On September 8, 2007, Kadyan widely forwarded a New Delhi

Television report that " Bhavin Gathani, who claims to be Gandhi's

personal secretary, has been accused of collecting extortion money

for slaughtering animals instead of saving them. "

Maneka Gandhi, the NDTV report concluded, " told NDTV that

Gathani had booked many butchers for cruelty to animals and that she

had always supported him " when butchers and livestock transporters

made false allegations about him to the police.

Calling Gathani " an excellent and brave animal welfare

worker, " based on his reputation and record of the past 10 years,

Maneka Gandhi told ANIMAL PEOPLE that " Apart from the fact that I

have never met him, I believe he was totally innocent, and I was

proved right when the police arrested his accusers. "

But the allegation directed at Gathani and amplified by NDTV

and Kadyan turned out to have followed Kadyan himself for some time,

along with an allegation that he had spent Animal Welfare Board of

India funds to build a yoga center.

ANIMAL PEOPLE was not able to establish just exactly who did

what involving alleged bribes, butchering, and livestock transport.

The Indian meat industry is so notoriously corrupt that a recent

federal affidavit asserts that only 71 of the 456 known

slaughterhouses in India are in compliance with hygiene and pollution

control standards. The affidavit was filed in connection with Laxmi

Narain Modi's most recent attempt to close illegal slaughterhouses,

following the effort that produced Mittal's inspection report.

But ANIMAL PEOPLE confirmed that promoting yoga is among the

incorporated purposes of PfA Haryana, and that yoga is prominent

among the activities described at the PfA Haryana web site.

" Mrs. Maneka Gandhi is not a symbol of animal rights

movements in India, " Kadyan e-mailed in response to questions from

ANIMAL PEOPLE. " She made baseless false allegations against me. If

I got some informations then this is my duty to inform my friends & I

am ready to face each & every thing as I am a iron man. "

 

Gouhar Azeez

 

The allegations triggering the September 27 CBI raids,

however, appear to have come from Gouhar Azeez, the Muslim founder

and president of an organization called Bharatiya Prani Mitra Sangh.

Though Bharatiya Prani Mitra Sangh emphasizes cow protection,

it addresses many animal issues. In 2003, after ANIMAL PEOPLE

sponsored a speaking tour of India by Gerardo Vicente, DVM, of the

McKee Project in Costa Rica, Bharatiya Prani Mitra Sangh was among

the first Indian groups to endorse the " no kill, no shelters "

approach to sterilization and street dog control that has proved

successful in Costa Rica.

Aligned with Hindu and Jain social conservatives, Azeez had

been perceived as a favorite of Maneka Gandhi. Her most prominent

recent achievement was winning a December 2006 order from the Madras

High Court against camel slaughter during the 2007 Muslim " Feast of

Atonement. "

But only three days later the Madras High Court reversed

itself and instead " directed local health officials and Public Health

Officers to certify the site/place of slaughtering and check the

health condition of the animals, " reported The Hindu.

More than nine months afterward, Azeez in an e-mail to Maneka

Gandhi blamed the reversal on Animal Welfare Board vice chair Appaji

Rao and the AWBI staff, several of whom had apparently voiced

differences with Azeez over legal strategy.

" They took a huge amount form the butchers and vacated the

stay order. All those animals were killed, " Azeez wrote. " When I

complained to the chairman, Dr. Kharb, he promised that he would

take stringent action against the culprits. But later nobody

bothered about the cruelty inflicted to the animals. "

Blue Cross of India chief executive Chinny Krishna questioned

Rao at Maneka Gandhi's request, but why Azeez imagined that the AWBI

even could have influenced the High Court reversal was never clear.

Meanwhile, Azeez on September 9, 2007 wrote to Indian prime

minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, urging that none of the

sitting Animal Welfare Board be reappointed, " otherwise the entire

government money will be looted. "

Azeez continued with several paragraphs of allegations

against Rao and former AWBI executive secretary R. Balasubraman-ian,

but offered few specifics and no supporting documentation.

" All the funding to the board must be stopped immediately,

and the ministry should take charge of the entire funding, " Azeez

recommended. " Since this is only an advisory board they need not get

involved in the distribution of funds. "

Azeez also suggested that " A senior account officer must be

appointed or deputed preferably from New Delhi, " where R.

Balasubramanian now works.

Unlike most other Indian government agencies, the Animal

Welfare Board has always been based in Chennai.

Incoherant as the Azeez letter was, language parallel to it

appeared in statements attributed to an anonymous CBI official by K.

Praveen Kumar in his articles for the New Indian Express about the

September 28 raids.

 

Who was raided

 

Chinny Krishna told ANIMAL PEOPLE that the raids, early on a

Friday morning, hit the former home of R. Balasub-ramanian, the

home of present AWBI secretary K. Ramaswamy, who has served the

Animal Welfare Board in various capacities for about 30 years, and

the home of AWBI member S. Ravindran.

In addition, Krishna said, " A team of CBI people came to

the Blue Cross and said that they wanted to see the files and papers

pertaining to the grants we received from the Animal Welfare Board of

India. During the six-hour search by five people, " Krishna

recounted, " the only discrepancy they found was that a certificate

given by Ambattur municipality for one quarter stated that over 400

dogs had been spayed and vaccinated by the Blue Cross, whereas our

chief veterinarian Dr. T. P. Sekar certified only around 200 dogs in

the totals we furnished to the Board.

" It was pointed out that we gave a lesser number, " Krishna

continued. " The CBI official wanted to know why, and I told him

that this question should be directed at the Ambattur municipality. "

While the Blue Cross claimed to have done fewer

sterilizations than Ambattur said were done, K. Praveen Kumar on

October 1, 2007 quoted his anonymous source as alleging that humane

societies " conduct Animal Birth Control on limited numbers of dogs

and then create documents to prove that they have done it on a larger

number and collect extra money. "

Continued Kumar, " According to highly placed sources in the

CBI, they have got substantial evidence about the mis-utilization of

Central Government grants by the majority " of participants in the

national Animal Birth Control program.

As well as echoing Azeez, the allegations echoed claims made

by public officials in Bangalore and Hyderabad earlier in 2007,

after several fatal attacks by dogs in areas not actually within the

service radius of any ABC programs brought a hue-and-cry for

dismantling the local ABC programs and resuming killing dogs.

Before the introduction of ABC, hiring dogcatchers was an

important source of patronage jobs for office holders cultivating

illiterate support.

But despite the eagerness of some of the Bangalore and

Hyderabad populists to put dog-killers back on the payroll, no

mismanagement or misuse of funds by any of the Bangalore and

Hyderabad nonprofit Animal Birth Control programs was ever documented.

In the ten years since the Animal Birth Control approach

became Indian national policy, significant corruption has been

documented only in ABC programs managed by municipal governments.

Kumar's anonymous CBI source acknowledged that any specific

allegations would have to " be substantiated after validation of

documents. "

No charges were immediately filed, or even mentioned as pending.

Krishna characterized the New Indian Express coverage as

" vague, unsubstantiated, and irresponsible. "

Said Krishna, " There have been allegations against the

officials of the Animal Welfare Board of India that grant moneys are

not being properly given. I was specifically told by a Mr.

Krishnamurthy of the CBI that there were some corruption charges

received against some board officials.

" To be fair to the officials, " Krishna said, " they process

the grants after the grants are approved by the Animal Welfare Board,

which consists of 28 people. However, inspections are carried out

by paid Board employees, " Krishna acknowledged. The inspectors'

recommendations help the Animal Welfare Board members in their

deliberations about which projects to fund, in what amounts. Unlike

the Animal Welfare Board staff, the board members serve without pay.

" Considering that a total of about $2 million U.S. is divided

up among several hundred groups, there is not much to go around, "

Krishna observed.

 

Icebergs in India?

 

" Fund mis-utilization by the Blue Cross is tip of an

iceberg, " Kumar further quoted the anonymous alleged senior CBI

official. " We have got enough material to show that many such

organizations have been indulging in similar activities. Our Cochin

unit officers raided the People for Animals office at

Thiruvananthapuram, " for example, where supposedly " PfA members

diverted the grant allocated for animal shelter construction and used

it for their own house construction. "

Thiruvanathapuram was formerly known as Trivandrum.

" There have been raids on our trustees' residences, "

PfA-Trivandrum chief executive Leela Latheef acknowledged to ANIMAL

PEOPLE. " We are being questioned every day by the CBI, and being

unnecessarily harassed for even small administrative blunders. "

At issue, Latheef said, is how PfA Trivandrum has used an

Animal Welfare Board grant for shelter construction.

" We were paid the shelter grant two years back and our

shelter is nearing completion, " Latheef told ANIMAL PEOPLE. " We will

start operating it in its incomplete state because we are hard

pressed for shelter space. We have not applied for Animal Birth

Control funds, " Latheef said, " because we don't want to apply

before we get our hospital functional. But we are having some severe

problems with the Animal Welfare Board, " Latheef admitted. " They

inspected our shelter premises and then sent us a 'show cause' notice

asking us why we should not be penalized for violations in utilizing

the grant. "

The alleged violations, Latheef said, are that " The

shelter is located far from the city; according to the municipal

records, there are not many dogs in the area; we have not signed a

memo of understanding [to do Animal Birth Control] with the city;

and we don't have valid building permits.

" Our shelter is only 13 kilometers from the city, and is

located in a quiet area because we do not want city people

complaining about noise and other kinds of pollution, " Latheef

explained. " The city's own ABC program was stalled for about two

years by people who did not want dogs in the veterinary center in

the middle of the city. "

The only dog counts done in the shelter vicinity, Latheef

said, are of pets brought to the local veterinary hospital for

treatment. No one has done a street dog census, but on average the

Indian street dog population is two to three times the pet dog

population when ABC programs begin, defining " pet " as any dog who is

regularly fed by the same people.

PfA-Trivandrum has not contracted to do ABC with the city of

Thiruvanathapuram, Latheef said, because the present city

administration has balked at working with humane organizations.

The first ABC program in the city, begun in 2003 by Animal

Rights Kerala, in September 2006 trained 25 dogcatchers to assist a

municipal ABC program that never got started. Instead, the

dogcatchers " used all the information we had given them to go out and

kill all the dogs in Thiruvanatha-puram and surrounding areas,

including our sterilized dogs, " alleged ARK founder Avis Lyons.

When Lyons tried to intervene against a round-up of

sterilized dogs in February 2007, she was charged with assault.

Paid per dog caught, the catchers subsequently hired

themselves out to catch and kill dogs in other cities.

" We have not been given any clarification by the Animal

Welfare Board regarding how our building permits are deficient, "

Latheef told ANIMAL PEOPLE. " We have written many letters and

reminders in response to their 'show cause' notices, but have not

received even one reply.

" Another allegation against us, " Latheef added, " is that we

are building a guest house and not a shelter. " This allegation

originated, Latheef guessed, because the structure that is to house

puppies and the PfA-Trivandrum administrative offices " has three

bathrooms in it and looks good. "

 

Blue Cross rebuttal

 

" We suspect large-scale diversion and misappropriation of

grants in many Chennai organizations also, " Kumar of the New India

Express quoted the anonymous CBI official.

" The Blue Cross has nothing to hide, " responded Chinny

Krishna. " We can categorically state that we have given nothing to

any official of the Animal Welfare Board for any grants sanctioned.

In fact, we have been consistently given 75 rupees less on each dog

we have spayed than the 445 rupees we are supposed to get, since we

are not paid for the catching and transportation component. Dogs

caught outside the Madras corporation limits account for about 50% of

the dogs we fix, " Krishna explained.

" These dogs are caught, transported and returned by our

vehicles and staff. Only those dogs caught by the city inside the

city limits are caught by the city dog catchers, " Krishna said,

" and even these dogs are returned to their original locations by the

Blue Cross staff, using our vehicles.

" Most importantly, " Krishna said, " we were funded by the

Animal Welfare Board for only a portion of the Animal Birth Control

program work we have done. In 2006-2007, " for example, " they

funded 7,000 surgeries, " Krishna said, " but we did close to 10,000

in Chennai and suburbs, not including the 4,500 we did in

Kanchipuram. "

Some Indian animal welfare organizations are chiefly funded

by government grants, Krishna acknowledged, but grants to the Blue

Cross amount to barely more than a sixth of the total organizational

budget, and less than half of the total cost of the Blue Cross's

Animal Birth Control program.

 

" Tried to prevent gossips "

 

A memo from a senior official in the Indian Ministry of

Environment & Forests, forwarded to ANIMAL PEOPLE from several

different sources who obtained it, identified Mittal as bragging

" that he was the person who engineered the CBI raids on many PFAs and

Blue Cross. "

Asked what substantial information he might have had to give

to the CBI, Mittal said, " It is better known to CBI and the AWOs

raided by them. If I know also I will not pass on. I am not the

complainant, " Mittal protested further. " I may be having

information with me, but I am not going to speak at this juncture as

an investigating agency is in action and official secrecy prevents

me. I have not attacked of my own but tried to prevent the gossips

spread by others. "

Mittal also asserted that speculation unsuccessful grant

applicants were behind the allegations against the Animal Welfare

Board and Blue Cross was a " clear attack on the United Progressive

Alliance, " without explaining why he thought this might be clear to

anyone.

Mittal refused to comment on suggestions from several

directions that his role in the CBI investigation began when word

leaked from the prime minister's office that he would not be

reappointed, due to complaints from other members.

Asked one AWBI member, " Why does Mittal and his gang of

assorted meat traders want to be on the board? Because the Supreme

Court order asking the AWBI to inspect slaughterhouses is an open

invitation to make money from illegal slaughterhouse owners. "

Be that as it may, Mittal's major recommendation for

improving the governance of slaughterhouses was " to suggest the onus

be shifted from civic bodies & be put on the animal owner [or] person

offering the animal for slaughter and taking the carcass to the meat

stall. "

Individual veterinarians, rather than civil service

employees, would be paid by the sellers to inspect the animals and

carcasses, a system likely to produce administrative chaos, losing

any hope of accountability. -Merritt Clifton

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Mr.Merritt Clifton,

 

Thank you for calling a spade a spade and yours is a good piece of

investigative journalism.

yet there are some grey areas; like

 

1.Mittal was never asked to do the inspections of the slaughter houses in

Kerala and Karnataka.

The first letter from the supreme court of India dated 10th Oct.2006 asked the

AWBI to conduct the inspections.

The AWBI in turn designated the job to two animal welfare activists in Kerala

and Karnataka.

As per letter no.9-6/2005 PCA dated 8th Nov.2006 [the copy of which is with

the A.H.dept. in Kerala Mittal's role was coordinating the inspection in both

states.

 

The gentlemen designated by the AWBI in both the states are asked to send the

inspection report in detail with photographs in a bound volume.

There is a copy of the letter sent by Mr. A.G.B Babu to the Kerala A.H.Dept

to send him the list of experts in Meat hygiene who can accompany him in the

inspections.

Accordingly, the A.H.D. released the service of Dr.Surendra Nath, Dr.Uma

Maheswaranand Dr.C.Ramesan Babu on 7th Dec.2006.as the deadline for inspections

were fast approaching.

 

There were enquiries from the Kerala state why the inspections were not taking

place to as directed by the S.C.to which the then Secretary to AWBI

Dr.balasubhramanian replied that Mr.S.K.Mittal was in the Middle East on a trade

tour and he has to come back.

In fact there actually was no need for the presence of Mittal for the

inspection, compilation or sending the bound volume of the reportsregarding

slaughterhouses but still the AWBI Secretary waited for the arrival of Mittal

from his foreign jaunt and the hurried inspection tour was conducted on

5th,6th,7th,and 8th of Jan.2007

The S.C has clearly directed the " AWBI to conduct a detailed examination of

the slaughterhouses and file the report " but Mittal has browbeaten the AWBI

Secretary and the tour was postponed as per his convenience.

Further, the S.C. has asked for such reports from all the respondent Indian

states and U.Ts and in nowhere you can find such a report. The one man " Mittal

Commission' report is what Mittal termed it in a press meeting.

 

Mittal's Question about " how much time one needed for visiting a slaughter

house " itself shows that the man has not even done the basic arithmetic for such

things.

A slaughterhouse in Kerala wakes up around 4'O clock in the morning.

The inspection team has to be there at that time to see how the animals are

brought there, whether there is ramp for the receptacle etc., apart from the

actual slaughtering and the allied processes.

As required by the S.C.the inspection team has to spend at least three hours

in a slaughterhouse to comply with the directions from the S.C.

 

About the Kakkur race please don't believe what the crafty organisers say

about the tradition. Please subtract a 100 years from the 120 yr. tradition of

the race.The race was actually started by the Ex' State minister T.M.Jacob.

 

Mr.Mittal was actually on the dais admonished the anti-race demonstrators who

pelted rotten eggs upon him.[The video clearly shows his presence there.]

 

Mittal's endorsing of the race as " hundreds participating is an utter lie "