Cattle smuggler injured, two arrested in police encounter in UP's Deoria

Deoria, Dec 22 (IANS) One cattle smuggler was injured, and two others were arrested in an encounter with the police in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district in the early hours of Monday.

An encounter took place between police and cattle smugglers in the Salempur police station area. During a vehicle check near Dhanauti Rai village, police stopped a vehicle that was being used to smuggle cattle.

When the criminals saw the police, they opened fire. In the exchange of gunfire, one of the suspects, Bholu Yadav, was shot in the leg and injured. The police also surrounded the area and arrested two other suspects, Narayan Yadav and Nagendra Kumar, at the scene. The injured criminal was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police recovered an illegal pistol, live and spent cartridges, the vehicle used in the smuggling, and the cattle from the spot.

A case has been registered at Salempur Police Station under relevant sections, and further legal action is being taken.

A joint police team from Salempur and Lar Police Stations, led by Salempur Station Head Mahendra Kumar Chaturvedi, carried out this operation.

This comes just days after two cow smugglers were injured, and one was arrested in two separate police encounters in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur and Ballia districts.

In Jaunpur, an encounter took place between police and cow smugglers in the Khuthan police station area late on December 18. During the exchange of fire, a notorious cow smuggler was injured by a bullet in police retaliation, while one of his associates was arrested after being surrounded by the police.

A car without a number plate, a country-made pistol, two empty cartridges and some cash were recovered from the spot, according to the police.

In a separate incident in Ballia district on the same day (December 18), the police arrested a wanted accused in a cow slaughter case following an encounter.

During the retaliatory firing, the accused was shot in the leg and subsequently admitted to the Community Health Centre in Sonbarsa for treatment.