42 cattle seized in Deulgaon Raja; pickup driver, teenager questioned, Rs 16.80 lakh goods seized

Deulgaon Raja police set up a checkpoint on Jalna Road on the night of November 1 on suspicion of illegal transport of cattle. In the operation, police took 42 bovine animals into their custody. Goods worth Rs 16.80 lakh, including a Bolero pickup, were seized.

According to police, constable Rushikesh Babanrao Chincholे was on patrol with his team in the early hours of November 1. Police Inspector Brahmagiri received a tip-off from a secret informant that bovine animals were being taken for slaughter in a Bolero pickup from in front of the cotton market in Deulgaon Raja towards Jalna.

Acting on the tip-off, police set up a checkpoint in the Tryambaknagar area on Jalna Road. At about 2.30 am, a Bolero pickup with registration number MH-21-BH-5850 was seen coming from the Deulgaon Raja side. The rear of the vehicle was covered with a yellow cloth, which made police suspicious, and they stopped the vehicle and checked it.

The two people in the vehicle were questioned. The driver gave his name as Imtiyaz Shaikh Khalil Ahmed, 52, a resident of Juna Jalna. The other occupant is a 17-year-old minor and his identity is not being disclosed. Police said that when asked what was in the vehicle, both gave evasive answers.

When the yellow cloth tied at the back was removed, four cows and two calves were found packed in tightly. Police suspected they were being taken for slaughter. Asked about the owner of the animals, the two said they belonged to Mohammad Riyaz of Gondegaon in Jalna district.

Questioning revealed that some more animals were also kept tied at the cotton market in Deulgaon Raja. When the police team reached there, it found 36 male bovine animals tied up without food or water. Police thus took into custody 42 animals in all: six from the pickup and 36 from the cotton market.

Police said the people concerned did not have the permit required to transport the animals, or documents of purchase and sale.

The seized goods are valued as follows: the Bolero pickup at Rs 5 lakh, four cows at Rs 80,000, two calves at Rs 20,000 and 36 bullocks at Rs 10.80 lakh, a total of Rs 16.80 lakh.

On the complaint of constable Rushikesh Babanrao Chincholे, a case, Crime No. 495/2026, has been registered at Deulgaon Raja police station. It invokes Sections 11(1)(d), (e), (f) and (h) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and Section 119 of the Maharashtra Police Act.

Sub-Inspector Mohan Gite is conducting further investigation on the orders of Police Inspector Brahmagiri. Police said the action could expose an entire network of illegal cattle transport. Who else is involved in the trade is now a matter of investigation.