2 cattle smugglers arrested after 1-hour dramatic chase

--main accused absconding

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Two persons who were involved in cattle smuggling and attempted to evade the police were arrested between Harsul and Jinsi areas on Monday night.

As they tried to escape after abandoning their vehicle, the police chased and apprehended them. During the scuffle, the smugglers fell and were injured.

The accused, Shoeb Khwaja Qureshi (21, Sillekhana) and Sohel Altaf Qureshi (20, Rehmaniya Colony) were arrested. Fayyaz Khalil Qureshi (Sillekhana), who allegedly purchased the animals from them, has been named as a co-accused, but is currently absconding.

According to details, Assistant Police Inspector Vinayak Shelke, PSI Jagannath Menkudale and a team including Sandeep Kale were on night patrol on December 15.

They received information that a vehicle carrying cattle was coming via Harsul route. A trap was laid at Harsul Chowk around 1 am. When the four-wheeler arrived, the police signalled it to stop. However, Shoeb and Sohel sped away at high speed to avoid police arrest.

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Apprehended while fleeing

Fearing arrest, the accused drove recklessly at high speed, but the police continued the chase. The chase given through Uddhavrao Patil Chowk, the District Collector’s Office area and Champa Chowk before entering Rengtipura.

They were unable to negotiate a turn at one point. As a result, both suspects abandoned the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. Police personnel Manoj Akole, Pradeep Dandvate, Mangesh Shinde, Vilas Muthe and others chased them. During the scuffle, Shoeb and Sohel were injured. They were then taken to the Jinsi Police Station.

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Animals put into vehicle cruelly

Shoeb and Sohel had cruelly put the animals into a small space at the rear of the vehicle. They did not possess any vehicle documents. The investigation revealed that they were smuggling cattle on the instructions of Fayyaz. It has also come to light that the main smugglers paid youths between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per trip and operated the racket with the help of various young individuals.