A buffalo meat trader from Mumbai has been granted asylum in Ireland after the Dublin-based International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) ruled that he would face religious persecution if he returned to India. The 50-year-old businessman and his two sons, whose names cannot be disclosed, fled Mumbai in August 2017 and arrived in Dublin on August 20, 2017, after travelling through the UK.

MID-DAY can now reveal that, after seven years of legal battles, including an appeal to the High Court of Ireland, the businessman received a “refugee declaration” from Tribunal Member Mary Forde in March 2024. The judgment, accessed by mid-day, highlights multiple failures by law enforcement agencies in India.