2 suspected cow smugglers shot at, held after gunfight with Nuh cops

Police said the suspects were intercepted around 3.30am after a tip-off about cattle being transported towards Rajasthan via the Gurugram-Sohna-Nuh route.

Two suspected cow smugglers, one of them a wanted criminal carrying a bounty, were injured and arrested following a brief gunfight with police near Ghaseda village in Nuh early on Sunday, officials said.

The suspects allegedly tried to flee in a Maruti Ertiga, with the driver ramming a police vehicle before a passenger opened fire at the police team. (File photo)

According to police, the crime staff unit of Ferozepur Jhirka received a tip-off that a group of smugglers would be transporting cattle towards Rajasthan via the Gurugram-Sohna-Nuh route. Acting on the information, a police team set up a barricade near Ghaseda village around 3.30am.

Shortly after, a Maruti Suzuki Ertiga approached the checkpoint but stopped about 50 metres away and attempted a sudden U-turn, as per officers part of the arrest. When the police team tried to intercept the vehicle, the driver rammed the car into the police vehicle. A passenger then opened fire at the police team, prompting retaliatory fire.

During the cross-firing, two suspects were shot in the leg and apprehended, while two others managed to escape, investigators said. The injured suspects were taken to Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Medical College in Nalhar for treatment, police said.

Police said three cattle were rescued from the vehicle. Police also recovered two country-made pistols, four live cartridges and three empty shells from the spot, and impounded the car. An FIR has been registered under the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act at Nuh police station, and a search operation is underway to nab the absconding suspects, officials added.