Cattle being transported for ‘slaughter’ rescued near Varanasi toll plaza, 5 arrested

2 min readLucknowJul 15, 2026 08:21 PM IST

Sixteen cattle heads were rescued from the truck, officials said. (Express Archives)

Five alleged interstate cattle smugglers, including a juvenile, were arrested while transporting cattle to Bihar for slaughter in a truck from near a toll plaza on the outskirts of Varanasi city, police said.

Sixteen cattle heads were rescued from the truck, officials said.

Apart from the 17-year-old youth, those arrested were identified as Ashu Kharwar (23), a resident of Uttar Pradesh, Shivendra Singh (24) and Chhotu Singh of Madhya Pradesh and Abhishek Tiwari (23) of Chhattisgarh.

A case was registered against them at the Lanka police station under provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and further investigation is underway, officials said.

Lanka Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kumar Sharma said though no criminal history of the arrested accused was found so far, police will seek antecedents of those from other states.

The juvenile is the son of the owner of the vehicle used to transport the cattle, Sharma said.

The four adult accused were produced in a local court, which remanded them to judicial custody, while the teenager was presented before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to an observation home.

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According to police, they acted on a tip-off and set up a checkpoint near Dafi toll plaza where the truck tried to evade their team but was intercepted after a brief chase.

During questioning, the accused admitted that they had been transporting cattle from different parts of Uttar Pradesh to Bihar, where the animals were to be sold for slaughter, the police said.

The accused received instructions from a man identified as Hemant of Chhattisgarh, they added. The rescued bovines included 11 cows and the vehicle used to transport the animals was impounded.

The investigation is on to identify others linked to the smuggling network, the police said.