Camels caught in Delhi liquor smuggling case housed in govt shelter

Three camels seized in Delhi for smuggling liquor are now at a shelter, healthy and under care, awaiting court decisions on their future.

Three camels seized by Delhi Police last week for allegedly being used to smuggle liquor into the Capital are now lodged inside a government-run animal shelter at Boulevard Road in north Delhi, opposite the Tis Hazari Court Complex.

The premises are monitored by 14 CCTV cameras. (HT Photo)

The camels, caught along with five alleged bootleggers late Thursday night while carrying more than 2,000 bottles from Faridabad to Sangam Vihar through a forest stretch, were brought to the Delhi Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) shelter on Saturday, officials said.

Two of the camels were found sharing a 30-foot-long and 12-foot-wide enclosure at the facility, while the third, younger in appearance, was kept in the adjacent one. When HT visited on Monday, one camel was seated on the ground chewing cud while the others stood under ceiling fans, with concrete troughs partially filled with grass and dry straw. The older camel had a bell tied around its neck.

The DSPCA shelter has five large enclosures: two were empty, cows were kept in one, and the remaining two housed the camels. Around 14 CCTV cameras monitor the premises, spread across 7,000 square yards, where animals seized in cases or rescued from slaughter are kept under state care.

An official at the shelter, requesting anonymity, said, “The camels were brought to our shelter by the police in a truck in two trips – two in the first and one in the second. Apart from the camels, we have over 100 sheep rescued from the DND flyway and 18 other livestock here.”

Another DSPCA official said the camels were in good health, fed twice daily, and under veterinary supervision. One camel had a minor injury on its rear left leg from a tightly tied rope, which has been treated. “The camels are healthy and doing fine since they were brought here. Nobody has visited them since Saturday. Their future will be decided by the court. They may be released along with the accused and returned to their rightful owners or retained until further orders,” the official added.

According to police, the camels were purchased over the past year from Rajasthan’s Alwar for ₹60,000– ₹80,000 each by Vinod Bhadana (48) and Sunil Bhadana (38), both residents of Anangpur in Faridabad. The men, along with three others – Rahul (22), Ajay (25), and Saurabh – allegedly used the animals to transport liquor over a six-kilometre forest stretch at night, avoiding checkpoints.

Police had earlier confirmed the seizure and arrests, saying the use of camels allowed traffickers to blend into the forest terrain without drawing attention.