Guwahati: The Assam police on Monday rescued as many as 35 cattle heads from a truck in Khetri in the state’s Kamrup Metropolitan district. A team of the East Guwahati Police District (EGPD) from the Khetri police station intercepted a truck, bearing registration number AS02-CC-2289, on National Highway 37, and rescued the cattle heads. The cattle were reportedly being smuggled to Meghalaya’s Byrnihat. The police are investigating the matter to ascertain the place of origin and final destination of the smuggling bid.
“An EGPD team from Khetri PS intercepted one truck (AS02 CC 2289) on National Highway while it was trying to smuggle 35 cattle into Byrnihat. Further probe is on,” the Assam police stated in a post on X, previously Twitter.
Cattle smuggling has become a routine affair in Assam with the police rescuing thousands of cattle heads besides arresting hundreds of cattle smugglers from various parts of the state in the recent past.
Earlier this year, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed the state assembly that over 13,000 cattle heads were rescued and 1,326 alleged cattle smugglers were arrested in 2022 from different districts of the state. The police also seized 612 vehicles used in the smuggling of cattle.
Most of these cases were reported from the Dhubri district bordering Bangladesh. At least 617 such cases were reported from the Lower Assam district during the period.
Speaking to ABP Live, nature conservationist Mubina Akhtar said, “The law enforcement agencies were proactive to curb the menace of cattle smuggling till a couple of years ago but now it seems that they are not taking the matter seriously. It is often seen that the people arrested for cattle smuggling are simple henchmen. The law enforcement agencies have never tried to reach the kingpins and bust the international cattle smuggling racket. Until and unless the racket is busted, it is not going to stop”
“These cattle are brought from different parts of the country and finally make their way to Bangladesh through the international porous borders of the Northeastern region, especially through the rivers which are unfenced. The government of India should take up the matter seriously and have discussions with Bangladesh. The Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) should be vigilant enough to foil such attempts by the cattle smugglers,” Akhtar added.
The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.
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