Six arrested for stealing cows from highways near Mumbai; six at large

The accused, who are butchers, have confessed to have stolen 30 cows in past two years.

Six people were arrested on Monday for stealing cows from highways in Thane, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

They stole the cows from highways in Thane, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai (Representational photo)

The accused, who are butchers, have confessed to have stolen 30 cows in past two years.

Asif Yasin Quereshi, 24, Monish Fidahuddin Quereshi, 20, Irfan Ghulam Mohammed Mulla, 35, Fazal Ayub Qureshi, 22, Layk Yasin Qureshi, 32, and Shafiq Hanif Quereshi, 32, are residents of Kalyan and Mumbra.

On February 25, Sunil Yadav lodged a complaint with the Wagale Estate police station after two cows went missing from his cow shed.

During the investigation, police constable Rizwan Sayyed from Thane crime branch unit 1 got a tip-off about the accused and alerted his seniors.

“We formed a team to nab the accused. We arrested the accused from Mumbra and Kalyan. They have been remanded in police custody. They have confessed to being involved in three cases. We are checking with the other police stations about similar complaints being lodged,” said Datta Sarak, police sub-inspector from Thane crime branch.

“Till now, they have confessed to stealing cows in Mumbai, Thane and Roha, Mahad and Chiplun. Yadav had seven cows, of which two went missing. We have arrested six accused. Four are on the run,” said Sarak.

Shrishail Chiwadshetty, assistant police inspector from Thane crime branch, said, “We have taken samples of the dead cows which were slaughtered. The skin, blood and flesh have been sent to the forensic lab for testing. All the accused are butchers.”