Three persons were arrested and two separate attempts of bovine smuggling were foiled in Rajouri and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said Wednesday.

Three persons, travelling in a mini truck, were arrested after they broke a police checkpoint during a bovine smuggling bid in Rajouri district, a police official said.

He said a police party during routine highway checking signalled the vehicle to stop at Solki on Jammu-Rajouri road last night. "The driver of the vehicle broke the checkpoint and endangered the lives of cops. On this, all checkpoints were put on alert and the vehicle was intercepted at Dharamsal," the official said.

He said two oxen loaded in the vehicle in merciless manner were rescued and the driver, along with two of his associates, was arrested.

The official said 15 more bovines were rescued from a Jammu-bound truck at Jatwal-Ghagwal in Samba district this morning.

The truck was coming from Kathua district, he said. The driver of the vehicle, however, escaped and efforts are on to nab him, he added.

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