Cops arrest five for cow slaughter

AMBERNATH: Five men were arrested from Ambernath on Sunday for allegedly slaughtering three cows and selling beef.

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A few residents on Sunday morning alerted a beat marshall in Ulanchand claiming some people had allegedly killed cows. The constable reached the place to find three dead cows and rescued two calves.

The five accused — Shafi Ibrahim Quereshi, 40, Riyaz Mohammed Shaikh, 38, Azad Nizamuddin Quereshi, 26, Sajjad Nizamuddin Quereshi, 33, and Yusuf Kashif Shaikh, 45, — are Ambernath residents and work as butchers. The accused were booked under sections 429, 34, of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995.

A constable from Ambernath police station said, “When the news reached us, we alerted our seniors, who arrested the five accused. They were planning to sell the beef at higher prices in a local market.”

B Wagh, an officer at Ambernath police station, said, “The accused will be produced in court on Monday. We have also seized two choppers and knives that we think were used to kill the animals.”

The police are trying to find out from where the cattle was bought.

Shakuntala Majumdar, president of Thane SPCA, said, “Stealing cattle has become very common. Animals are stolen for quick money before festivals. This can be curbed if the authorities keep a tab on the cattle and police are sensitized and vigilant.”