Why 10 cops are hunting for 9 buffaloes

That’s not all. Whenever the police come across buffaloes they suspect could have been stolen animals, they click their pictures and WhatsApp them to the dairy owner, Satish Kumar, for identification.

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Top police officers too have done their bit to trace the buffaloes. With the police drawing a blank, Kumar has met Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi to seek help. “One of the buffaloes gives 22 litres of milk daily. I have suffered huge losses after the theft,” Kumar said.

“One of the buffaloes is very, very healthy. Two have marks on their forehead,” he added.

He said Bassi asked joint commissioner of police (northern range) Sanjay Singh to look into the matter. Sanjay Singh, for his part, asked deputy commissioner of police (outer) Vikramjit Singh to look into the case following which the special team was formed. “Police personnel from Aman Vihar police station and the special staff team of Outer district were asked to hunt for the stolen buffaloes. They are being led by two inspectors,” Vikramjit Singh said.

Sources said Sanjay Singh also took note of the weekly report on the matter from Vikramjit Singh.

“The case was discussed in the crime review meetings of Outer district,” an officer said.

Kumar told The Indian Express that he had brought the pregnant buffaloes from a relative’s place a day before they were stolen on May 16 night. Kumar, who has been running the dairy for the last 20 years, said unidentified men stole the buffaloes after beating up security guard Chaman, who was guarding the animals.

“At around 3 am that night, Chaman came to me and said that the buffaloes, worth around Rs 15 lakh, had been stolen.

I then informed the police, who reached the crime scene within an hour,” Kumar said.

Vikramjit Singh said after a case was registered, the police started their investigation and questioned several people.

“We questioned everybody who Kumar suspected might have stolen the buffaloes. In the last three months, we carried out several raids in Delhi and other states, but so far we have not achieved any breakthrough,” he said.