Maha: Four booked for transporting cattle under inhumane conditions

An offence has been registered against four persons for allegedly transporting cattle under inhumane conditions in a truck in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Saturday.

A patrolling team of the police spotted a truck loaded with buffalos near Dapoda village on Mumbai-Nashik Highway in the early hours of Friday, an official from Narpoli police station said.

At least 25 buffalos were found packed inside and tied so that they are unable to move, he said.

The accused did not have a permit to transport animals, the official said, adding that one of the accused was caught, while three others managed to escape the scene. A case under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Motor Vehicles Act has been registered and no arrests have been made, he said.