A shootout between the police and several alleged cattle smugglers in Haryana’s Nuh district late on Monday night resulted in a constable getting wounded in his eye and three accused being injured. Three other accused escaped from the scene, officials said.
The incident took place at Panchgaon Hills.
According to Harinder Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), a team led by Sub-Inspector Mahendra, head of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) in Tauru, was on patrol when they received information that six men were preparing to slaughter cattle with illegal weapons. The police identified the men as Tahir, Rahil, Shahzad, Bilal, Shoeb, and Taslim.
Acting on the tip, two CIA teams raided the location and found the group with a cow that was allegedly tied up to be slaughtered. According to the police, upon spotting them, the alleged smugglers opened fire with illegal weapons. The police responded with warning shots and calls for surrender, but the men allegedly fired again.
In the ensuing exchange, the police said, Rahil, Tahir, and Shahzad were injured. One of the accused allegedly attacked Police Constable Ajay with a knife, injuring his right eye. The three other men fled the scene, the police said.
The injured accused were admitted to Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College in Nalhad for treatment.
The police recovered two illegal country-made pistols, three live cartridges, seven spent cartridges, three knives, two axes, a dead cow, two live cows, two motorcycles, two mobile phones, and other items from the site.
A case has been registered against the six accused at Sadar Tauru police station on Tuesday, and an investigation is underway, officials said.
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According to police records, Tahir and Rahil, who are brothers, have five prior cases related to cattle smuggling in their names, while Shahzad has two. The police are investigating their criminal records in other jurisdictions.
This marks the fourth police encounter with alleged cattle smugglers in Nuh over the past two months.
On March 18, three alleged cattle smugglers were injured and three fled in an encounter near the railway track in Gurnawat, Tauru. On April 1, two smugglers were injured in a clash in the Silakho Hills. Another encounter on the Nuh-Sohna road saw two smugglers escape from the Nuh CIA.
“The Nuh police continue their crackdown on cattle smuggling, with ongoing raids to apprehend the escaped smugglers and dismantle the smuggling network,” a spokesperson said.