Assam: Unknown assailants killed two Cattle Smuggler in Kokrajhar district

Two cattle smugglers were killed on Tuesday in Assam's Kokrajhar district in firing by unknown assailants while being taken to trace their smuggling routes, according to a senior police officer, who added that four police officers were injured in the shootout. They were arrested last week in Uttar Pradesh and handed over to Assam Police.

The deceased, both from Meerut, were detained under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, according to police. Assam Police had previously issued a reward of Rs. 2 lakh for the duo's arrest, and the money was turned over to Uttar Pradesh police when they were apprehended.

According to a senior police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the couple revealed a nexus that funded terror networks by smuggling cattle into Bangladesh from India when questioned in detention.

“Following disclosures made by the two, our team had taken them to interior parts of Raimona National Park towards Jamduar, close to the Indo-Bhutan border to find out more about the routes used for cattle smuggling when the police party was ambushed by extremists around 1:15 am,” said Kokrajhar police superintendent Thube Prateek Vijaykumar.

“Our team got down, took positions and started firing towards the extremists. This lasted for around 12-15 minutes during which, the two accused who were in police vehicles as well as four policemen sustained bullet injuries. All injured were rushed to nearby civil hospital where the two accused were declared dead,” he added.

The four officers who were hurt have been admitted to government hospitals and are said to be in stable condition.

According to the SP, combing operations following the event resulted in the seizure of one AK-47 rifle with two magazines, 35 rounds of live fire, and 28 shot casings from the region.

“We are yet to ascertain the identity of the extremists who fired at the police party, but we suspect that they could have some relation with the arrested cattle smugglers and the entire racket. Combing operations are underway in the area and we hope to nab them soon,” Vijaykumar said.