Animal welfare activists seized a goods carrier laden with at least 20 head of cattle near the KSRTC bus stand in Srirangapatna of the district on Monday and handed over four persons to the police.
The animals, reportedly purchased from farmers of various villages in and around Hunsur and Periyapatna of Mysuru district, were allegedly being transported to illegal slaughter houses in Bengaluru, the Srirangapatna police said. Acting on a tip-off, Kavitha Jain, Honorary Officer of Animal Welfare Board of India, an animal rights organisation in Bengaluru, and other activists intercepted the vehicle on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway and rescued the animals that were in a miserable condition. They later informed the police.
Arrested
The police arrested Sadiq Rehman Sheriff and Abbas of Ratnagiri village near Hunsur, and Nazeer Buden Ahmed and Syed Ayaz Razak of Adaganahalli near Periyapatna on the charge of illegally transporting cattle. The arrested did not have any documents related to the purpose of the transportation of animals, the police said.
The rescued cattle were shifted to an animal rescue centre in Mysuru on Monday evening, the police added.
The accused have been booked under provisions of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Transport of Animal Rules, the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 2015, and the IPC.
