Deoria (UP), Jan 29 (PTI) An alleged cattle smuggler was injured in an exchange of fire with the police near a shrine in Deoria city in the early hours of Thursday, police said.
The encounter took place
around 3 am when police personnel intercepted a pickup vehicle carrying cattle near a mazar along the Gorakhpur Road in Deoria.
The smugglers opened fire at the police, prompting retaliatory firing in which one of the accused was shot in the leg, they said.
Police said the injured person was identified as Kishan Yadav (35), a resident of Bharthari village in Gorakhpur district. He sustained a bullet injury near his right knee and was taken into custody.
According to the police, Deoria Sadar Kotwali station house officer Vinod Kumar Singh was on patrol when he received information about cattle smugglers heading towards Gorakhpur. Police personnel then began vehicle checking near Purva Chauraha.
When a pickup vehicle loaded with cattle was spotted coming from the Gorakhpur side, police tried to stop it. However, the occupants attempted to flee, taking the vehicle towards the Somanath temple road near an overbridge. The police team cornered the vehicle near the shrine, following which the smugglers opened fire, police said.
Two other smugglers managed under the cover of darkness, while the injured accused was apprehended, they said.
Seven animals -- three cows and four calves -- were found loaded in the pickup vehicle. One calf died, police said, adding that the vehicle and the cattle have been seized.
The injured man is undergoing treatment at the Maharshi Deoraha Baba Medical College under police custody. Efforts are on to trace the two absconding accused named by Kishan Yadav, police said. PTI COR KIS NSD
NSD
