131 cattle seized in Sambhajinagar city as police intensify anti-smuggling drive

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In a major crackdown ahead of Bakrid, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city police on Wednesday evening seized 131 cattle from different locations under the limits of the Jinsi police station, while the rural police intensified a parallel district-wide offensive against illegal cattle transportation, slaughter and beef trade networks.Officers said multiple teams from the city police carried out coordinated raids at nearly 15 locations in the Jinsi area and took custody of the animals allegedly brought for illegal slaughter. During operations, police teams uncovered extreme concealment methods, finding cattle hidden on upper floors of residential buildings.Police commissioner Pravin Pawar said, “In accordance with the clause mentioned in the latest GR, we will go ahead with invoking sections of MCOCA against the accused,” signalling action against repeat offenders and organised syndicates.DCP (Zone II) Ratnakar Navale said the action was based on specific intelligence inputs and that FIR registration was underway. Meanwhile, the panchnama process continued till late on Wednesday night, with officers saying that the rescued animals would be handed over to authorised shelters after completion of legal formalities.Simultaneously, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Rural police launched a parallel drive under the directives of superintendent of police Prakash Jadhav, targeting smuggling routes through interior areas. As part of the crackdown, proposals were sent to the Regional Transport Office seeking suspension of permits of 19 vehicles and cancellation of licences of drivers allegedly involved.The police said permits of five vehicles have already been suspended for 30 days, while licences of six drivers have been cancelled for 90 days. Proposals involving vehicles registered outside the district have been forwarded to respective RTOs for further action.Between May 16 and 26, rural police conducted a 10-day drive involving nakabandis, patrols and coordinated raids across multiple jurisdictions including Vaijapur, Gangapur, Paithan, Kannad Rural, Phulambri, Khultabad and Sillod Rural.During the operations, 24 cases were registered and 44 accused were identified under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, BNS and Motor Vehicles Act. Police said 111 cattle worth Rs 33.99 lakh were rescued or seized, along with 1,945 kg of beef and total property worth Rs 55.46 lakh being confiscated.