Dhanbad police on Saturday claimed to foil a bid to smuggle cows to West Bengal by intercepting a cattle-laden vehicle at Jharkhand's border with the neighboring state.
The police launched a special checking drive on Delhi-Kolkata National Highway 2 stretch on getting a tip-off that cows are being smuggled from Gaya to West Bengal through the toll plaza
Three cows were rescued at the Maithon toll plaza and two persons were arrested in this connection, police said.
Maithon OP officer-in-charge Balaji Rajhans said that the cattle were being smuggled to West Bengal from the Gaya district of Bihar.
"Four cows were being carried in an SUV of which one was found dead in the vehicle. Legs of the cattle were tied with rope and had been dumped in the seatless SUV. The remaining three cows would be handed over to Katras Gaushala of the district after completing the legal process", he said.
Police arrested the vehicle driver Gaisul Ansari and Arman Ansari on the spot and both are being interrogated about cattle smuggling and the mastermind of the syndicate.
Last month a container was seized at the toll plaza carrying 35 cows to West Bengal.
Maithon OP police said that they had not expected that smugglers could use an SUV for ferrying cows to Bengal.
(Inputs from PTI)
