Wanted cattle smuggler arrested after encounter with police in UP

Ballia (UP), Oct 14 (PTI) A cattle smuggler carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head was arrested following an encounter in the Dubharh area here, the police said on Tuesday.

Ashok Kumar Yadav (40), a resident of Darampur village in the Phephna area, was nabbed while he was trying to flee to Bihar. He sustained a bullet injury in his leg during the operation, they said.

During checking near the road leading to Janeshwar Mishra Setu on the Green Field Expressway, police signalled a man coming on a motorcycle to stop. However, the motorcyclist started fleeing in the opposite direction while firing at the police team with the intention to kill, Additional Superintendent of Police Kripa Shankar said.

The police chased the man, who again opened fire after finding himself surrounded by the team. The police personnel retaliated in self-defence and arrested the accused, the officer said.

Yadav was shot in the leg during the encounter and has been admitted to the district hospital for treatment, he added.

Shankar said that during interrogation, the accused told the police that he and his associates were transporting cows to Bihar for slaughter on the night of October 10, when two of them, Sunil and Kamlesh, were arrested.

He said Yadav managed to give the police a miss and was trying to flee to Bihar to avoid arrest in the case.

A country-made pistol and cartridges were recovered from the accused, Shankar said. PTI COR NAV SHS DIV DIV