UP, March 23: Four makeshift meat shops were set afire on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras area by anti-social elements, the town's residents said. Earlier in the morning, three shops were set afire in the Uttar Pradesh town. The shopowners, Raees and Muhammad Sindhi said they came to know about the burning down of their shops by miscreants near Kashiram Colony around 3 a.m. 
 
The shopkeepers said their losses totalled around Rs 75,000. "An FIR has been lodged against unknown miscreants. We are investigating the matter," a police official said.
 
Informed sources said within 24 hours, a makeshift shop situated in Laadpur village was set ablaze late Wednesday evening.The shopkeeper concerned claimed losses, but police said the "illegal" makeshift shop was empty and had nothing inside.
 
"We cant's comment as to who has done this but there were no losses for the owner… it is a small incident and the cause of the fire is not clear," a police official told IANS.Hathras District Magistrate Avinash Krishna Singh said the crime was a "small incident".Asked if there was a communal angle, the officer said it was yet to be ascertained.
 
A number of meat shops and slaughterhouses, mostly illegal, have been either attacked or forced to shut down by vigilantes or by the district administration at various places in the state after the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party government.