They used to give green fodder to cattle and then administer tranquilizer injections. The Pimpri-Chinchwad police have recently busted a Mumbai-based gang that had been lifting cattle from Pune and Raigad districts and slaughtering the animals for meat. The police have arrested nine persons in the case and launched a search to nab more members of the gang.
The activities of the gang first came to the notice of the police after a case of cattle theft was lodged at the Dighi police station under the jurisdiction of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police in 2022. The probe revealed that some suspects initially started feeding green fodder to a cow and subsequently tranquilized the animal by administering an injection. The cow was taken away in a vehicle.
Officials said that similar cases were also reported in Pune city, Pune rural, and Raigad police jurisdictions. Senior Inspector Dilip Shinde, in charge of Dighi police station, said: “Our investigation team had been working on these cases over the last two months. Our teams worked on the leads in Mumbai, Thane, and Pune. Over the last few days, we have arrested a total of nine persons who are from Bandra, Kurla, and Mira Bhayandar in Mumbai. We have seized from them tranquilizer injections, three vehicles used for transport of cattle, and sharp butchering knives used for slaughtering.”
Shinde added, “Our probe suggests that this gang is involved in at least 14 cases of lifting cattle for slaughtering in the last couple of years. These suspects used to lift two to three cattle from one place. They mainly targeted stray cattle or openly grazing cattle owned by local cowshed owners. They used to give green fodder to cattle and then administer tranquilizer injections. They then transported two or three animals in one trip to their location and slaughtered them. They used to sell the meat to butchers.”
The police have identified the suspects as Mohsin Qureshi, Shahid Qureshi, Abdul Rehman Qureshi, Ashfaq Qureshi, Arif Qureshi, Sohel Qureshi, Rahil Qureshi, Mohsin Qureshi, and Jafar.