FIVE SUSPECTED CATTLE THIEVES ARRESTED AFTER SHOOT-OUT NEAR DWARKA: POLICE

Five suspected cattle thieves from Meerut were arrested after a 3km chase, followed by an exchange of fire at Dwarka-kakrola road in southwest Delhi early Monday morning, police said.

Four bullets were fired during the shoot-out, causing injuries to two suspects, and the bullets fired by the alleged criminals hit two policemen in their bulletproof vests, said deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena.

“The arrested cattle lifters were involved in stealing more than 1,000 cattle, mostly buffaloes, from Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan in the last four to five years, and selling them to unauthorised butchers in Uttar Pradesh. The five men came to Goyala Dairy area near Dwarka in a pick-up van to steal cattle when our team members chased and caught them following an encounter. They also tried to snatch the service weapons of our policemen,” said DCP Meena. The suspects were not carrying cattle at the time of encounter with the police.

The arrested men were identified by their first names Ajaj, Irshad, Ismail, Sajat and Nabiya, all residents of Meerut.

DCP Meena said the district’s special staff team was looking for cattle thieves following a incident in Chhawla, in which the suspects stole four buffaloes after tying their caretaker with a rope on January 12 this year. During the probe, it was learnt that there several similar incidents. The team learnt about a Meerut-based gang.

The police got a tip-off that the thieves will be coming to Goyala Dairy, and they laid a trap for them. Around 4.30 am, the team spotted them in a van and signalled the driver to stop. However, the truck hit the barricades and sped away.

During the chase by the police, the van hit a streetlight pole, this was followed by firing from the two sides. The police have seized the van and two pistols from the suspects.

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