MCOCA slapped on cattle smugglinggang after 29 trapped bovines killed

Nagpur: The Nagpur rural police on Monday invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999, against a 12-member gang involved in illegal cattle smuggling and transportation for slaughter. Seven accused, including the leader, were arrested, with probes ongoing for the remaining five. Police claimed this was the first time MCOCA was slapped against a cattle smuggling syndicate in Maharashtra. The ban on cow slaughter was enacted through the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976, as amended in 1995 and further strengthened in 2015.The case stemmed from an incident when a truck carrying 37 cattle caught fire on Nagpur-Katol road near Fetri village under Kalmeshwar police station jurisdiction on Nov 15 this year.The blaze, triggered by a tyre burst and subsequent friction, killed 29 animals which were tied with ropes and beaten while 8 surviving cattle were rescued and shifted to a cowshed in Raulgaon.The driver fled the scene despite the risk to nearby settlements and road damage, leading to a probe led by SP (rural) Harssh A Poddar and additional SP Anil Mhaske. The investigation revealed a sophisticated inter-state organised crime cattle smuggling network.At the helm was alleged gang leader Mohammad Nasir Mohammad Shafi Qureshi (40), a resident of Mahendra Nagar, Teka Naka, in north Nagpur, who owned large trucks for transportation. The gang sourced cattle from Chhattisgarh, temporarily held them in forested areas like Pangaon village in Salekasa taluka (Bhandara district), and transferred them in smaller vehicles to deserted spots near Nagpur. They then crammed them into trucks and transported these to Amravati and beyond for slaughter. Bovine smugglers used scout vehicles to evade checks, operated under cover of darkness, and used deceptive tactics like ambulances or pick-ups, said police sources.The key accused included driver Syed Sultan alias Sonu Hamid Ali (33), loaders Aamir Rauf Qureshi (29) and Rafiq Qureshi (32), suppliers Shoheb Naushad Syed (26) and Manohar Bhojraj Mangate (26), and Ikhtiyar Qureshi Mushtaq Qureshi (33), among others.Prior offences against the gang spanned multiple police stations in Maharashtra including Nagpur rural, Kamptee, Mauda, Teosa, Navegaon, Gondia, Bhandara, Wardha and in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni, Chand, Lodhikheda.Despite repeated cases under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and Motor Vehicles Act, their activities persisted, justifying invocation of MCOCA for continuing unlawful activity.The move allowed extended custody, tougher bail conditions, and harsher penalties, signalling zero tolerance for organised animal cruelty and smuggling rackets threatening rural livelihoods and animal welfare, said a top cop, adding that MCOCA was invoked following instructions from IG, Nagpur range, Sandip Patil. "This action aligns with broader state efforts to curb interstate cattle smugglers, potentially setting a precedent for similar gangs. Animal rights advocates hail it as a victory, while police vow sustained operations to dismantle such networks," said additional SP Mhaske.