Mangalore: Inter-district cattle thieves arrested, modus operandi revealed
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore
Mangalore, Sep 25: Two days after locals protested against police failure in curbing cattle thefts, the Suratkal police on Tuesday September 24 arrested three inter-district cattle thieves from Jokatte here.
The arrested have been identified as Jokatte residents Sarfaraz alias Choppu (25), Nissar (22) and Sheik alias Ummar Farooq (27).
It is learnt that they committed thefts at Malnad region, coastal region, Sakleshpur, Hassan, Mudigere, Chikmagalur and others places.
Sources said that the accused have admitted to stealing cattle from the houses of Diwakar Shetty in Kuthetur and Baby in Krishnapur.
Modus operandi
The gang took to cattle thieving two years ago. It is said that altogether there are ten groups, each comprising four to five members and the arrested belong to one of these groups. They would roam in their Scorpio and other vehicles in the evenings and steal cattle found wandering on the way and from cowsheds in the rural areas. By 6 am the next morning, they would systematically transport the cattle to slaughterhouses and by 9 am the meat would reach market for sale, said the accused.
It is learnt that the accused used to transport six to seven cows in each vehicle. The cows were usually purchased by Shahzaan from Ullal slaughterhouse. The meat was also transported to Bantwal slaughterhouse.
It is also learnt that each person involved in the theft used to get atleast Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000. Likewise, a team used to transport cattle at least five times a week. Around 18 loads of cattle stolen were sent to Ullal on a daily basis, it is learnt.
In three years, the gang supplied around 4,000 stolen cows to slaughterhouses, the accused said.
Political support suspected
During investigation, the arrested persons revealed that they were supported by various political parties in their act and that they were actively involved in some or the other parties. In order to transport the cattle safely, they used to bribe a few people as well.
Goonda Act
As locals have urged police to book the arrested under Goonda Act, police said investigation will be undertaken in this regard.
The Suratkal police team arrested the accused under the guidance of police commissioner Manish Karbikar, deputy commissioner Dr Jagadish and ACP Ravikumar. The team consisted of Suratkal inspector M A Natarajan, Rajendra, Krishna, Vijayraj, Bharatraj, Puneeth, Safiullah.
The accused were produced in the court sent to judicial custody till October 3.
The police team has urged people’s support in catching the remaining thieves.