AGRA: A farmer was allegedly shot dead on Friday night as he tried to save his buffalo from armed cattle thieves. The incident took place in Kotrekapura village.Charan Singh (45), was killed around 11.45pm after he identified the thieves and nabbed one of them.Raghuraj Singh, station officer of Nibohra police station, said, “Charan was shot twice after he grabbed one of the thieves. They failed to steal the buffalo but killed the farmer and fled.“While fleeing, the thieves left their pickup truck behind. After the incident, an FIR was lodged against four unidentified men and the truck, with UP registration number, was impounded.“We are trying to establish the owner's name, based on the registration number,“ SHO Raghuraj said.In another incident, cattle thieves fired shots and took away a buffalo from Putpura Ujjawali village on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday . Police lodged an FIR for theft.Attacks on farmers by cattle thieves have increased in the past year after cow protection vigilantes became active following the Dadri lynching episode. In dis tricts neighbouring Agra , a teenaged girl and a 20-yearold woman were killed and two others were seriously injured by cattle thieves.A senior police official said, “Cattle thieves are now specifically targeting buffaloes, as there is more demand for its flesh. In almost every district, especially those close to abattoirs or which have one, instances of buffalo theft are being reported at least twice a month.“