Odisha Police freeze 200 bank accounts linked to cow smuggling network

In a major crackdown on cow-smuggling networks, Keonjhar police have frozen nearly 200 bank accounts allegedly linked to cow-mafia operations in the district. Many of these accounts are associated with bank lockers, which will now come under the ambit of detailed investigation to trace illegal financial transactions, official sources said on Thursday.

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According to the official sources, the legal action follows extensive raids carried out last week across Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts. During the operations, police seized cash running into crores of rupees along with vehicles worth several lakhs. Large bundles of cash recovered during the raids have exposed the scale and financial muscle of the cattle smuggling syndicate.

Police conducted verification at the main branch of Union Bank in Keonjhar town and identified a bank account belonging to Turumunga-based cow-mafia accused Arun Kumar Sahu, alias Mantu. Similarly, bank accounts of individuals linked to the cow smuggling network in the Telkoi police limits of Keonjhar district have also been seized.

Police officials said the investigation is underway and more financial assets linked to the racket may be brought under scrutiny in the coming days.

“So far, we have detected around 200 (suspected to be illegal) bank accounts and sent the requisitions for each and every account to the banks concerned. We have asked the banks to freeze those accounts,” Keonjhar Additional SP, Snehasis Sahu, said.

“Most of the bank accounts have already been frozen, and several of them have locker facilities. Keonjhar Police have constituted four teams, and the groups are carrying out verification of the lockers in different districts,” the senior cop added.