Ludhiana: Home guard among three held for smuggling cattle

Gau Raksha Dal accuses home guard Dhannapati of exploiting his position to facilitate cattle smuggling, using his identity to help vehicles bypass checkpoints

The Machhiwara police, with the support of the Gau Raksha Dal (NGO), arrested three persons, including a home guard, for allegedly smuggling cows and bulls to a slaughterhouse. The suspects have been identified as Robin Masih of Mallian village in Gurdaspur, Dhannapati of Deowal village in Gurdaspur and Parvinder Kumar of Samana in Patiala.

The accused in police custody in Ludhiana on Monday.

According to Nikshan Kumar, Punjab president of Gau Raksha Dal, the organisation received a tip-off about suspicious activities near the Powat bridge where cows and bulls were reportedly being kept in a shed. They reached the location late night and found two individuals loading bulls into a pickup truck while several others were tied nearby.

When questioned, the accused failed to provide a satisfactory explanation. Upon receiving the alert, SHO Pavittar Singh and ASI Harvinder Singh Ghuman reached the scene, seized the vehicle and arrested the suspects.

“We discovered that the animals were being smuggled to a slaughterhouse,” said Kumar. “This act deeply hurts our religious sentiments. The accused were part of a larger smuggling network,” he said.

Among the arrested individuals is Dhannapati, a home guard with Punjab Police. According to Dal leaders, Dhannapati exploited his position to facilitate cattle smuggling, using his identity to help vehicles bypass checkpoints. “Recently, he had also begun using his vehicle to transport animals directly,” he alleged.

“This home guard has ties to a prominent smuggling ringleader in Punjab,” alleged Satish Kumar, national president of Gau Raksha Dal. “We demand a comprehensive investigation to expose everyone involved in this network.”

SHO Pavittar Singh confirmed that the investigation is ongoing to identify other suspects and determine the destination of the smuggled cattle. “We are interrogating the arrested individuals and will take action against anyone found involved in this case,” he said.

The police have also seized the suspects’ vehicle and rescued over 20 cows and bulls from the site.