Former BJP leader Anwar Mev was arrested last week for alleged cow killing
A case against Anwar Mev - who has been arrested for alleged cow slaughter -- under the National Security Act is justified as a precautionary measure, say the local police in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas, 150 km from state capital Bhopal.
Mr Mev -- the vice president of the BJP's local minority cell -- was arrested on January 27, along with 9 of his relatives, for allegedly keeping beef in his house. The BJP expelled him and on January 28, he was booked under the National Security Act, a tough law used to detain suspects who threaten the country's security.
"In cases which are a threat to communal harmony... there is no harm in over-reacting," said Shashikant Shukla, the Superintendent of Police, Dewas.
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.
The police say Mr Mev had a dozen cases against him. One of these was under Arms Act and another of cow slaughter, which happened in January. The latest incident, they say, could have caused communal trouble.
The police say 10 bags of meat were found in Mr Mev's house, samples have been sent for forensic test.
Mr Mev's family claims they are being framed. "There are many here who are against my brother. Most of our relatives arrested were not even present in the house. They were picked up from different locations," said Munnam Mev.
There is tension in the area, with the Nagar Panchayat asking almost a dozen chicken and mutton shops owners, mostly Muslims, to shift their shops to the outskirts.
"The notice said we dirty the tehsil. But I feel we have got this notice because of the Anwar Mev incident," said chicken shop owner Mohammad Rauf.
Nagendra Kanungo, the chief of Nagar Panchayat said in January, they received complaints about the shops. The plan, he said, is to "have a central market for meat vendors".