On a tip-off, three accused held near a local animal market after intercepting a vehicle

The Uttar Pradesh police on Tuesday claimed to have nabbed the main culprits of the cow slaughter incident in Bulandshahr a fortnight after two persons died during mob violence over discovery of cow carcasses.

The police arrested three persons near a local animal market in Bulandshahr after they intercepted a vehicle carrying the suspects based on a tip-off.

The arrested were Nadeem, Raees and Kala, all of the Syana region, police said. A vehicle, double-barrelled licensed gun, a meat chopper, two knives and a butcher’s wooden block were recovered from them. The items were allegedly used in committing the crime.

The police even claimed that the accused were on course to committing another cow slaughter when they were arrested.

A fourth accused, Haroon, managed to flee.

Circle Officer Syana Raghvendra Kumar Mishra said one of the accused, Kala, had in the past spent time in jail over cow slaughter. But when asked about the alleged motive of the accused in committing the crime, since the BJP government had termed the discovery of the carcasses a ‘conspiracy’, Mr. Mishra said things were still being probed.

Killed 3 cows

According to the Bulandshahr police, on the night of December 2-3, two accused Haroon and Nadeem used their weapons to shoot dead three cows in Mahav village in Syana. They then chopped the cows and distributed the meat among themselves, with Haroon carrying away the hide and some meat in his car.

They left the carcasses and the remaining meat in the sugar cane fields, a police statement said.

This was not the only cow slaughter committed by the accused, police said.

On the night of December 1, they “hunted a cow” in the Naya forests nearby. The cow was allegedly shot with a licensed gun before being slaughtered, and distributed among the culprits.

Yogesh Raj’s complaint

On the complaint of Bajrang Dal member Yogesh Raj, police had registered a case under Sections 3, 5 and 8 of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1995 and Section 295 of the IPC.

Meanwhile, the police arrested two more persons accused in the mob violence case, taking the total to 19. Sachin alias Kobra (21) and Joni Chaudhary (19) were nabbed by a team of the Special Task Force near a bus stand in Bulandshahr.