Apna Dal (K) district chief among four arrested as cattle smuggling racket busted in Mirzapur: Police

The police further said that the village pradhan’s son, Sonu Patel, was also involved in the illegal operation and efforts are underway to nab him.

Mirzapur SSP Somen Barma said all four accused were produced in court and remanded in judicial custody.

According to police, on the intervening night of January 26 and 27, they received a tip-off that cattle were being smuggled in a pickup vehicle. Based on the information, they intercepted the vehicle and recovered five cattle.

Prajapati tried to flee, but the vehicle overturned on the road. He sustained injuries and was taken into custody, police said, adding that during interrogation, he confessed to his involvement in the smuggling operation and revealed the names of the other accused.

Police also found he has 11 criminal cases registered against him, including cow slaughter, gang activities, and other serious offences.

Confirming the development, Circle Officer Amar Bahadur said, “The accused used to steal cattle from the gaushala and smuggle them to other places as part of an organised racket.”

When contacted, Ram Snehi, media in-charge of Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), said that Shyam Bahadur Patel has been falsely implicated in the case and claimed that his name has surfaced due to a misunderstanding.

In Uttar Pradesh, there are around 7,500 gaushalas, of which nearly 7,200 are run by the government, while the remaining are managed by non-government organisations. Government-run shelters house approximately 12.5 lakh cattle, while NGO-run shelters have around 1.25 lakh. The cattle kept in these shelters are tagged for identification to prevent theft and ensure proper monitoring, officials said.