A cow protector was allegedly shot at by cattle smugglers in the early hours of Saturday morning (15th June) near Mahu-Chopta village in Haryana’s Nuh district, police said. The Police added that his condition is said to be critical.
The Police added that the victim was identified as Sonu Yadav alias Sarpanch, a native of Rewari district. He was rushed to a private hospital in Faridabad from where he was referred to Gurugram’s Medanta Medicity where he is receiving treatment.
Police further stated that Sonu, a cow protector, and six others were chasing a vehicle that was suspected to be smuggling cattle, on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway near Ferozepur Jhirka, when the smugglers attacked them.
Police said that the suspects are from Rajasthan as per preliminary investigations. A case was registered under sections 5, 13 (2), and 17 of the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, 2015, and section 307 (attempt to murder) at Ferozepur Jhirka police station.
The Police added that the suspects who were smuggling cattle from Rajasthan were being chased by the cow protectors on a tip-off. According to the police, the incident unfolded when a cow protection task force received information that some cattle smugglers from Rajasthan were en route to Nuh in a pickup van.
Nuh Superintendent of Police, Narendra Bijarnia said that the members of a cow protection task force tried to intercept the van, but the suspects started firing at them.
The Nuh SP said, “One of them suffered one bullet injury in his stomach and the suspects fled from the spot, leaving the van. The police team chased and arrested one of the suspects. We are questioning him to get details of his associates and from where they had stolen the cattle.”
A cow protector, Chaman Khatana said that the incident took place at around 4:45 am on Saturday when a team of seven cow protectors chased the pick-up truck of the cow smugglers.
Khatana added that the smugglers’ pick-up truck overturned on the road near Mau-Chopta village after which they started running away and one was caught by the cow protectors.
He further stated that when Sonu caught one suspected smuggler, the other cow smugglers opened fire. In the ensuing gunfire, Sonu got critically injured after getting a bullet shot in his stomach.
After getting information about the incident, the cow protectors gathered outside the Medanta hospital and demanded protection for the cow protectors.
A member of Bajrang Dal and counsel for cow protectors, Kulbhushan Bhardwaj said that licensed weapons should be made available to the ones protecting cows.
He stated that Sonu is being operated on and is reported critical. He added, “The cases of cattle smuggling have increased in the last few years and such incidents are becoming rampant in the district. The new expressway is used by these smugglers to safely smuggle cattle.”
