Cattle smugglers have allegedly attacked a Gaushala (cow-shelter), thrashed the Mahant and fled with three cows on Tuesday in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. The Police has initiated efforts to nab the accused, however, local residents feel that cattle smugglers have become emboldened due to the laxity of the Police.

“Gaushala caretaker Kanhaiya Lal, also known here as Babaji, filed a complaint that some cattle smugglers had attacked him and fled with cows,” said SHO Vinod Savariya. SP (ASP) Deeg Mahesh Meena told Times of India, “The suspects have not been identified. The caretaker said that the accused had come in a vehicle but he was unable to recall the registration number of that vehicle. The caretaker alleged that he was thrashed by the accused when he confronted them. Our teams are looking into the matter and we have registered an FIR under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal Act.”

Cattle Smuggling has been a huge problem in the area which falls under the Mewat region. It is a hotbed of organized crime, cattle smuggling, illegal Rohingya settlement and mob violence, even against the Police.

Last year too, there have been some incidents in Auraiya, UP, where Sadhus who had worked to prevent cow-slaughter in the area were found brutally murdered inside their dwellings.

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In an earlier incident, in the Tijara area of Alwar district, which falls under Mewat as well, police had raided the house of a man named Nishad in the Arandka village and recovered flesh and skin of the cows. The police had found 4-5 suspects in the nearby field sprinting away. When police went there they found about 20-22 kgs of beef lying down and cowhide of 5-6 cows from the well in the nearby field. On Thursday as well, the Police had managed to rescue 18 buffaloes and arrested two culprits.