Two cattle smugglers arrested after police encounter in UP's Meerut

Two alleged cattle smugglers were arrested on Thursday after a brief encounter with the police here, leaving a cop and one accused injured, police said.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Kamlesh Bahadur said the incident occurred in the early hours when a police team asked the duo riding a motorbike to pull over and the pillion rider opened fire on the cops, injuring head constable Krishna Kumar.

One man was arrested after he got injured in retaliatory firing by the police, while his co-accused fled into the forest nearby but was nabbed later, he added.

The accused have been identified as Ruhasa, a resident of Kharkoda here, and Kasif, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, the SP said.

A .315 bore pistol, two live cartridges, empty cartridges and equipment used in cow slaughter have been recovered from the duo, he added.

The injured accused and constable have been admitted to Sarupur Community Health Center for treatment, the police said.