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17 cows rescued from West Bengal district; were being smuggled, claim police
Police said the van was speeding towards Bankura district after entering Purulia from Bihar and it fell into a ditch along NH60
At least 17 cows were rescued from West Bengal’s Purulia district while the animals were allegedly smuggled in a milk delivery van on Tuesday, police said.
Five cows were reportedly killed when the van fell into a roadside ditch.
“We have arrested three persons, including the driver. The cows were being smuggled. They were brought from Bihar. The destination is still not clear. Interrogation is going on,” said a senior police official.
The accident took place around 5:30am in Purulia district which shares border with Bihar.
Police said the van was speeding towards Bankura district after entering Purulia from Bihar and it fell into a ditch along NH60.
The shutter at the back of the van accidentally opened and villagers found at least 22 cows inside.
They informed police and the van was carrying the number plate of Uttar Pradesh.
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“The accused persons have been identified as Yasin Khan, Nehal Quresi and Miraj Quresi. Even though all three were residents of Bihar, the vehicle had the number plate of Uttar Pradesh.
The incident comes at a time when CBI is probing cattle smuggling scam involving TMC leaders.
Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikary hit out at the TMC government.
“@WBPolice have been instructed by Kingpin @MamataOfficial to innovate & find novel ways to smuggle cattle. Seeking inspiration from Pushpa movie, an Amul (milk) Container was being used to move cattle at Purulia. It got exposed as the vehicle met with accident & skidded off road,” Adhikary posted on his official Twitter account.
Cattle smuggling was once rampant across the Indo-Bangla border in West Bengal even though numbers have dropped over the past four years.
BSF seized at least 38,657 cattle along the border in 2018.
In 2021, the border force seized only 1,611.
Smuggling of narcotic drug and psychotropic substances including phensedyl and yaba tablet have shot up alarmingly instead.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, however, questioned the border security officials.
“Cows don’t have wings. They can’t fly all the way to the border and then cross on their own. How are cows smuggled all the way from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar? What is the Uttar Pradesh police doing. The BSF guards the international border and is under union home minister Amit Shah’s jurisdiction. What are they doing?” said Kunal Ghosh, TMC leader.
