Agra: A farmer was allegedly shot dead late on Friday night as he tried to save his buffalo from armed cattle thieves. The incident took place in Kotrekapura village under Nibohra police station here.

Charan Singh (45), was killed at around 11:45 pm after he identified the smugglers and nabbed one of them.

Raghuraj Singh, station officer of Nibohra, said, “Charan was shot twice after he grabbed one of the thieves. They failed to steal the buffalo but killed the farmer and fled.”

The smugglers left their pickup truck behind, as the villagers surrounded them after Charan’s death.

After the incident, an FIR was lodged against four unidentified men and the truck, with UP registration numbers, was seized. “We are trying to establish the owner’s name, based on the registration number,” SHO Raghuraj said.

In another incident, cattle smugglers fired shots and took away a buffalo from Putpura Ujjawali village of Fatehabad area on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. No injury was reported. 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 lynching of a man for allegedly storing beef in his house in Dadri. In districts neighboring Agra, at least three persons, including a teenage girl and a 20-year-old woman were killed and two 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.”

According to police records, on May 30, a 16-year-old girl was shot dead by cattle smugglers in Ahmadabad village of Bagwala area, Etah district. On June 19, a 35-year-old farmer was run over outside his village, Pilkhatar Jait of Fariha area in Firozabad, when he attempted to stop thieves from taking away six of his buffaloes. On August 1 last year, two farmers were shot and injured in Kasganj district. On November 10, in a village in Etah district, a woman was shot dead inside her cattle shed by thieves when she caught them in the act.

Last month, a gang of seven cattle smugglers allegedly opened fire on villagers in Ghiraura village of Etah district, after they failed to steal buffaloes. Police arrested two of the thieves. On the morning of May 17, Agra police arrested five cattle smugglers after an encounter in the Sikandra area.

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