Bull slaughter accused caught in encounter, one more held

Varanasi: Suriyawan police in Bhadohi district arrested Vijay Gautam alias Kallu following exchange of fire in an orchard at Bairiparwa village on Sunday night. Gautam's three accomplices escaped. They were charged with butchering a stray bull. Some villagers had seen their act and alerted police.Bhadohi SP Abhimanyu Manglik on Monday said after receiving alert, Suriyawan police raided the orchard near the garden situated close to the primary school on Kalinjara Road. The accused opened fire at police team and tried to escape and in retaliatory firing by police, Vijay Gautam of Bairiparwa village suffered bullet injury in the leg and was caught, while his three aides others escaped. Police rushed Gautam to hospital and recovered beef, animal remains, a cleaver, car, country-made pistol and cartridges from him.
On searching the surrounding area, the bone pieces and other parts of the animal were found in the fields.During interrogation, Gautam said he and his friend Rajkumar Saroj caught a stray bull grazing in the field and struck a deal with two people to hand it over for slaughter. After Rajkumar drove the bull at night and tied the bull under a tree, both buyers reached in a car and they all slaughtered the bull at night and started packing its pieces. In the meantime, some villagers took note and raised alarm.To hide the parts of the bull's carcass in the fields and to prevent identification of the animal, they placed the head in the car, but before they could flee, police reached the spot. The SP said teams were engaged to nab Rajkumar and the other twowho managed to escape.In Azamgarh, Maharajganj police nabbed Shibbu on Monday for butchering a prohibited animal near Badhardeeh Puliya in 2025. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Holi wishes, messages and quotes !