Samba police arrested two notorious bovine smugglers on Wednesday and rescued cattle being smuggled to Kashmir valley from the district.
The smugglers, identified as Teg Ali and Feroz Din of Udhampur district’s Manjla area, were arrested in Rakh Amb Talli area of Samba district. A vehicle used for smuggling the cattle was also seized.
A case has been registered against the smugglers under relevant sections of the law.
This is the second major operation against bovine smugglers in Samba district in the past two weeks. On August 9, police arrested four bovine smugglers and rescued 20 cattle.
Samba SSP Benam Tosh said that a special drive has been launched against bovine smuggling in the district. He said that so far, 84 bovine smugglers have been arrested and 66 FIRs have been registered. Police have also seized 56 vehicles used for bovine smuggling and rescued 653 cattle.
The SSP said that the drive against bovine smuggling will continue and anyone found involved in the crime will be dealt with strictly.
Bovine smuggling is a serious crime in Jammu and Kashmir. The animals are often smuggled to Kashmir valley for slaughter, which is illegal in the state. The smuggling also causes a loss to the state exchequer as the animals are not taxed.
The police have been taking strict action against bovine smugglers in recent months. The recent arrests and seizures are a testament to the efforts of the police to curb this crime.
