Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Feb 7: Some policemen including a DySP were injured after bovine smugglers attacked police which tried to intercept their vehicles to rescue the bovine animals being smuggled by them from Punjab to J&K via Keddian Gandyal area of Kathua district during wee hours today.
As per reports, four vehicles including a Scorpio and three Mahindra load carriers carrying bovine animals were intercepted by Naka party of police and CISF jawans in Keddian Gandyal area of Kathua district early this morning.
The smugglers in a bid to foil the police action accelerated the speed of their vehicles and tried to hit the police and CISF jawans on Naka duty. As it was a total darkness, the CISF jawans presuming them as anti national elements fired some shots in the air from their service rifles in self defense.
However, the smugglers managed to cross the CISF naka giving slip to police and CISF jawans and fled towards Maggar Khud Gujjar Basti after crossing another naka at Pattan Berrian.
In the meantime, the jawans on duty informed Police Station and SHO Lakhanpur, Bharat Sharma who contacted SHO Kathua as the smugglers by then had entered the area falling under the jurisdiction of Kathua Police Station. The joint teams of Kathua and Lakhanpur rushed to the area to chase the smugglers. After smugglers took refuge in Gujjar Basti, the inmates of the Basti also joined them and pelted stones on police. In the stone pelting, DySP Majid Mehboob and some constables received injuries.
Sensing trouble, the smugglers rescued the animals and left two vehicles behind and fled away taking the advantage of darkness.
The police seized the vehicles including Scorpio bearing Registration Number PVO 9J2827 and the load carrier whose number was erased by the bovine smugglers.
SHO Lakhanpur, Inspector Bharat Sharma while confirming that bovine smugglers attacked police party and CISF on duty during wee hours today said that after being attacked by the bovine smugglers, the naka party immediately informed Lakhanpur Police Station.
After receiving the information Sharma said that he also immediately contacted Kathua Police Station as the smugglers by then had entered the Kathua area. The Police teams from police stations of Kathua and Lakhanpur led by SDPO, Kathua rushed to the spot and chased the bovine smugglers who even resorted to stone pelting on police teams.
Taking advantage of darkness the bovine smugglers left the animals in some secluded area and fled along with two load carriers leaving behind one Mahindra and one Scorpio vehicles.
He said the DySP Kathua and some jawans received injuries in the attack also. The SHO said that police has registered a case and started a manhunt to arrest the bovine smugglers. The people of Keddian Gandyal and Kathua have expressed serious concern over the incident and attack on police party by the bovine smugglers. They said that one police vehicle and a private vehicle were also damaged in the stone pelting by the bovine smugglers.
The Gujjars also protested against the police and criticized its action on Gujjar Basti. They said that they had no contact with any bovine smuggler from Punjab.
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