Bhadohi, 27

Oct (HS): Two suspected cow smugglers were apprehended after being injured in

separate police encounters in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Monday.

According to Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik, the encounters

occurred late Sunday night on National Highway-19. Both guys were carrying Rs 25,000 incentives

apiece. Both suspects had gunshot wounds to their legs and were brought to the

district hospital, where their condition was described as stable, he added. According

to officials, the operation followed a coordinated raid earlier in the day by

the district administration, police, and food safety officers on illegal

slaughterhouses located in roughly ten houses in the Jamund community of the

City Kotwali region.

During the

operation, police seized 36 bovines, about five quintals of butchered meat, and

detained nine people. The first incident happened at 10 p.m. near Gomti School,

when police stopped a pickup van. The suspect, Munawwar (35) of Amwa Mafi

village, reportedly opened fire on the police squad, resulting in retaliatory

fire that hit him below the knee, Manglik stated.

Munawwar fled

from police custody on September 28 during a prior effort to apprehend him in a

livestock smuggling case, prompting a reward of Rs 25,000 for his apprehension,

he said.

Around 11.30

p.m., police conducted another encounter near the Unj police station area,

where a wanted criminal, Javed Ahmad (38) of Puremufti in Prayagraj, reportedly

shot at cops while attempting to leave on a motorbike. He was shot in the leg before

being caught, according to the officer. Manglik said Javed had been involved in

livestock smuggling for several years before being charged under the Gangsters

Act on May 31 of this year. Both guys, working in distinct networks, reportedly

unlawfully supplied livestock from eastern Uttar Pradesh to Bihar and West

Bengal, he claimed. The SP stated that both males are being treated and will

appear in court later on Monday noon.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi