Meerut (Uttar Pradesh): Former minister and BSP leader Yaqub Qureshi and his son have been arrested from Delhi on Friday late evening and produced before a Meerut court in the illegal meat business case. He was a cabinet minister in the Bahuja Samaj Party (BSP) led Uttar Pradesh government in the past. The father-son duo have been arrested from Delhi's Chandni Mahal area by Uttar Pradesh police with the help of Delhi Police.
Earlier, the UP police had announced Rs 25,000 cash reward for the information leading to the arrest of these two. They were absconding for the last nine months so police had doubled the prize amount to Rs 50,000. Sources said that Yaqub and his son Imran were living in a rented flat at Delhi. Earlier Police had arrested Yaqub's another son Firoz in November 2022.
The accused Yaqub Qureshi and his son Imran were allegedly running an illegal meat processing and packaging plant. Meanwhile Yaqub and his family properties worth in crores were attached under the gangster act. Details of his illegal assets are being assessed.
Ironically, Haji Yaqub Qureshi was being considered as an influential person during the BSP regime. In the BSP, Yaqub Qureshi was considered a Muslim leader of considerable stature in Western UP. But, the illegal business of meat in his closed meat factory was caught towards the end of March 2022. Earlier the police had arrested his other son Firoz and sent him to jail whereas his wife got bail.
On March 31, 2022, the police disclosed illegal packing at Yakub Qureshi's factory on Hapur Road. Over 17 people including Yakub, his wife Sanjeeda Begum, sons Firoz, Imran, manager Mohit Tyagi were named. Thereafter police had first filed a gangster case against Yakub and his family. Later they announced the reward too. Under the Gangster Act, preparations are also going on to confiscate their property at 26 places, sources said.
