53 Cattle Heads Rescued As Assam Police Arrests 4 Cattle Smugglers Near Guwahati

The Assam police rescued 53 cattle heads at Sonapur in the Kamrup Metropolitan district arresting four alleged cattle smugglers who were taking the cattle to Meghalaya’s Byrnihat.

Guwahati: The Assam police on Thursday arrested four alleged cattle smugglers and rescued 53 cattle heads at Sonapur in the state's Kamrup Metropolitan district. A patrolling team of East Guwahati Police District from the Sonapur police station intercepted six vehicles, including five pick-up vans and one truck, on the outskirts of the state capital Guwahati and rescued the cattle that were being smuggled to Meghalaya’s Byrnihat.

The accused have been identified as Rafiq Islam, Akhilus Zaman, and Mubarak Ali, all residents of Nagaon district’s Samaguri and Rupahi area, and Mustafir Rahman, hailing from Sivasagar’s Khatual area. All the accused were later produced before a court by the Sonapur police.

Despite best efforts by different law enforcement agencies, cattle smuggling continues to be reported in the state. These cattle are reportedly brought from across the country and finally smuggled to neighbouring Bangladesh through the unfenced and porous borders of Meghalaya and Assam.

On August 7, 2023, personnel of the Sonapur police station arrested two alleged cattle smugglers and rescued 26 cattle heads at 14 Mile Tamulikuchi area on the outskirts of Guwahati.

On August 5, 2023, a team from the Sonapur police station intercepted a truck at Nazirakhat in the Kamrup Metropolitan district. The police arrested one alleged cattle smuggler and rescued 35 cattle heads.  

In yet another operation by personnel of the East Guwahati Police District on August 3 this year, two alleged cattle smugglers were arrested and 36 cattle heads were rescued from a truck at Jorabat in Kamrup Metropolitan district.

In all these cases, the cattle were reportedly being smuggled to Byrnihat in Meghalaya. Investigation by the police revealed that these cattle were likely to be smuggled to Bangladesh. 

On October 1, 2022, 35 smuggled cattle were rescued from a passenger bus at Missa in Nagaon district. However, the driver and conductor of the bus managed to escape. During investigation by the police, it was found that the cattle were being taken to Meghalaya. It was the first instance in the state where a passenger bus was used to smuggle cattle.

According to the police, an inter-state cattle smuggling racket is involved in the illegal trade.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on April 21, 2022, stated that the cattle smuggling business involves thousands of crores of Rupees and a portion of the money allegedly goes to the jihadi elements. 

On April 19, 2022, two most wanted mafias, involved in cattle smuggling, were killed in cross-firing between unknown assailants and the Assam police in the state’s Kokrajhar district when they were being taken to trace their smuggling routes. The duo was arrested from Uttar Pradesh and later brought to Assam for further investigation.

The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.

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