The Rohtas district administration sealed an illegal slaughterhouse in Bikramganj town on Saturday following complaints that the odour emanating from the facility was making lives unbearable.

Residents of Bikramganj had complained to the district authorities that an illegal slaughterhouse in Quraishi Tola was creating nuisance and health hazards. The foul smell emitting from the slaughterhouse had made the lives of hundreds of residents virtually hell, the complaint read. Taking note of the complaint, district magistrate (DM) Animesh Kumar Parashar directed Bikramganj sub-divisional officer Rajesh Kumar to remove the illegal slaughterhouse. A team of administration and police officials visited the area on Saturday morning and sealed the gate of the building from which the abattoir was running.

The DM said action on the Quraishi Tola slaughterhouse has been taken under Section 133 of the CrPC.

Authoritative sources said neither the owner nor the employees protested the move, adding that it could be because all slaughterhouses in the district are anyway illegal after Friday (March 31) as their licences have not been renewed. Acting station house officer of Bikramganj police station Mohammad Akram said abattoir licences have not been renewed beyond March 31, 2017, because no applications were received.

Akram also said the slaughterhouse was running from a makeshift building constructed on encroached government land.

Parashar also said Patna High Court had issued an order against the slaughterhouse. Rohtas resident Vinod Prasad Chaurasia had filed a PIL last year and hearing the petition on March 30, the division bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menonand Justice Sudhir Singh ordered: "Nagar Parishad (Sasaram) shall proceed to take action in the counter-affidavit and submit a report within six weeks."

DM Parashar said illegal meat shops are also on the administration's radar.