Former BJP leader Anwar Mev was arrested last week for alleged cow killing
An expelled BJP leader arrested in Madhya Pradesh for alleged cow killing has been charged under the National Security Act or NSA, a tough law used to detain suspects who threaten the country's security.
Anwar Mev was arrested last week for allegedly keeping beef in his house in Dewas, 150 km from state capital Bhopal.
"The (district) administration must have imposed NSA after seeing Anwar's record. Cow slaughter won't be tolerated at all," a leader of the state's ruling BJP, Shailesh Kesarwani, was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying.
Mr Mev, who was a leader of the BJP's minority cell, was expelled a day after his arrest. He is also facing a criminal case under the Madhya Pradesh Cow Slaughter Ban Act and is currently in a jail in Ujjain.
Nine others of his family, including his sons, brothers and nephews have also been jailed.
A police officer told NDTV that Mr Mev had a license for meat slaughter, which has lapsed.
On January 27, the police were told that he had slaughtered a cow. Rightwing activists allegedly barged into his house, claiming that sounds of a "cow mooing in pain" could be heard. They found remains that they alleged were that of a cow. The activists carried the remains in a sack to the police.
The police say 10 sacks of meat were found in Mr Mev's house, and it was alleged after an initial examination that three of the bags had cow meat. The meat has been sent for forensic tests, the results of which will take at least three weeks.
The National Security Act empowers the government to detain people for up to a year if they suspect that they could disrupt public order, endanger the security of India or its ties with foreign countries.