Cattle smuggler injured in encounter with police in Keonjhar

A suspected cow smuggler was injured during an encounter under Pandapada police limits in Keonjhar on Saturday night. The injured person has sustained two bullet injuries.

As per initial reports, a police team had conducted a raid after getting information regarding illegal cattle transportation in three vehicles.

On seeing the police team, the cattle smugglers allegedly opened fire on them. Subsequently, he was injured in the retaliatory firing by the police. The accused has been admitted to the hospital and his condition is said to be stable. The encounter with cattle smuggler has raised concern as such mafia are now using firearms to carry out their illegal operations.

It is not the first time that cattle smugglers have opened fire on the police team. A task force from Cuttack recently came under heavy firing by the cattle mafia in the Jodiaghati area.

It is alleged that smugglers procure cattle from various haats in Odisha and transport them illegally to Bangladesh via Kolkata.