PNS | DEHRADUN
The police arrested four men for illegally trafficking buffaloes from mountainous areas to Dehradun on Sunday. The accused were arrested during a routine vehicle inspection conducted by two separate police teams at the Satyanarayan Temple and the Pratitnagar T-junction on Sunday.
The officials informed that upon stopping and inspecting two vehicles, the police discovered a total of 20 live buffaloes crammed into the trucks in an extremely cruel manner. The animals had reportedly been tightly bound with ropes around their legs, horns and necks, leaving them barely able to move. The vehicles were being used to transport the buffaloes from hilly areas as part of an illicit smuggling operation, the officials said.
According to them, the drivers of the two vehicles, identified as Sahadab (32) from Haridwar and Major Singh (45) from Bijnor, along with two accomplices, Mashroor alias Munna (48) from Haridwar and Ayan (18) from Bijnor, were immediately apprehended. The police registered two separate cases under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act at Raiwala Police Station. They said that the buffaloes, rescued from the two vehicles, were sent to a safe location. Veterinarians provided medical treatment and tagged the animals for proper identification and record-keeping, they said.
The officials said that the arrests underscore the police’s commitment to curbing animal cruelty and illegal trafficking in the region. Further investigations are underway to determine the full extent of the smuggling network and its operations, they added.
