Drooping horns, tiny tail: Armed with detailed descriptions, Delhi cops hunt for 3 stolen buffaloes

Delhi Police’s hunt for buffaloes stolen from the house of a public works department employee in south-west Delhi’s Najafgarh on October 29 has so far turned up empty

Victim 1: “Kali bhains jiske seeng neeche ki taraf hain (A black buffalo with horns pointing down).”

In the FIR, owner Sushil Kumar has even mentioned the colour of one of the animal’s tiny tail — black and white, divided equally over its 1.5-inch length. (Illustration: Sudhir Shetty)

Victim 2: “Bhains jiske seeng chhote-chhote hain, aur poonch 1.5 inch ki hai (Buffalo with small horns, and a 1.5-inch-long tail).”

Victim 3: “Seeng bade-bade hai. Do mahine mein bachcha dene wali hai (Has big horns and is going to deliver a calf in two months).”

For the past 10 days, a police team led by a sub-inspector from Chhawla police station in south-west Delhi has been desperately looking for three missing buffaloes with the above description (given by the owner in his FIR).

The buffaloes were stolen from the house of a public works department employee in south-west Delhi’s Najafgarh on October 29. The owner, Sushil Kumar, lodged a complaint the next day when he found the three buffaloes and four calves missing from the cowshed. The alleged theft was caught in a CCTV camera outside the man’s house, but the footage recovered was grainy and unclear.

In the FIR, Kumar has even mentioned the colour of one of the animal’s tiny tail — black and white, divided equally over its 1.5-inch length.

Kumar’s son Aakash told Hindustan Times that they have a cow too, but the thieves did not steal it.

Police have registered the FIR against “unknown persons” under section 380 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code.

“The cow and two calves were outside the shed at night. They could have been stolen too, but the thieves did not touch them. The CCTV footage shows four men who came near my house in a pick-up van. We have given this footage to police,” Aakash said.

Police suspect the role of “cattle thieves” from Haryana, who have in the past come to Delhi to steal cattle. A senior officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “It is clear the thieves did not take the cow and her calves because that would have been risky. Travelling with cows would attract more eyes on the highways at night. They could have even been stopped by cow-vigilante groups active in parts of south-west and outer Delhi.”