The vehicle that was used to smuggle cattle

JAIPUR/ALWAR: There was an exchange of fire between Alwar police and suspected cow smugglers late on Sunday night after a pickup truck transporting cattle broke past police barricades.

On being chased, the suspected smugglers fired at the policemen. Later, police rescued a 15 cows although the transporters managed to escape.

Cops received information that two vehicles transporting cows illegally were heading towards them and immediately put up blockades.

“After the vehicles broke past the barricades, the suspected smugglers started firing at the police and we returned fire. They managed to go from Shajahanpur to Behror and Mandawar police station areas using smaller roads. Police chased the vehicles for many kilometres before the accused abandoned one of the pickups at Behror, while the other one was found in Mandwar. There were four persons in the two vehicles and we are trying to identify them,” said Neemrana DSP Siddhant Sharma.

Cases have been registered against the accused at Behror and Mandawar police stations. A police officer said, “A total of 15 cows were rescued from the vehicles and sent to a shelter. The vehicles were headed towards Bawal in Haryana and we are trying to trace the accused.”

Just a week ago, A 24-year-old man, who was allegedly smuggling cows, was beaten up by villagers in Alwar’s Shahjahanpur on September 22. Munafed Khan, a native of Tijara , had initially evaded police barricades but was caught by locals who thrashed him and fractured his hand. Police had registered a case against him and arrested seven locals for beating him up. Police had found that Khan and his accomplices would pick up stray cattle from Kotputali area and pay locals Rs 1,000 to load the animals in trucks at isolated spots. The cows would then be sold in Haryana at a price ranging between Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000. Smugglers earned Rs 2 lakh from every truckload of cattle.

