12 buffaloes rescued; were being taken to Bijnore for sale

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 26

The Uttarakhand police recovered 12 buffaloes from a vehicle resembling a petrol tanker during routine checking near the Chandighat barrier on the Indira Gandhi bridge here today. The police team signalled the vehicle coming from Najibabad to stop but the driver rammed it into the barrier. Following the collision, four persons came out of the vehicle and tried to flee.

Policemen, who had a narrow escape, chased the culprits, one of whom dived into the nearby canal. SHO, Shyampur, Anuj Singh, also dived into the canal and nabbed Abbas, a resident of Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh. However, Abbas’s accomplices Sarfaraj and vehicle driver Sakhavat, both residents of Moradabad, and Ayyub, a resident of Dadiyal village in Rampur, managed to escape.

Police teams have been formed to nab the absconders and the Uttar Pradesh police too have been informed.

With this incident coming to light, the police have now started checking vehicles resembling petrol tankers. Circle Officer Chandra Mohan has directed all station house officers to check impromptu all such vehicles. “The use of a petrol tanker like vehicle for smuggling animals has come to light for the first time in the district. It is suspected that buffaloes had been given some injection and were stacked in a miserable condition. One of the buffaloes was found dead in the container. The other 12 buffaloes have been handed over to the Kanzi house in Shyampur,” said Chandra Mohan.

Abbas, who sustained a leg fracture after diving into the canal, said the buffaloes were being taken to Salempur in Bijnore for selling. A buffalo fetches around Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 in the market. A case has been registered at Shyampur police station under Section 3/6/11 of the Uttarakhand Protection of Cows Progeny Act and section 11/1 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Former vice chairperson of the Gau Seva Ayog and legislator Swami Yatishwarnand has demanded strict implementation of the Uttarakhand Protection of Cow Progeny Act and a total ban on slaughtering of cows and buffaloes in the state.