Varanasi: Two cattle smugglers were arrested in separate encounters in Varanasi and Ghazipur districts on Monday morning after they allegedly opened fire on police during attempts to evade arrest. Both of them sustained bullet injuries in the leg in retaliatory firing. Police also seized cattle-laden trucks from their possession.Regarding the action in Varanasi, ACP Kotwali Vijay Pratap Singh said that after receiving information about a cattle-laden truck heading towards Bihar via National Highway-19, the Ramnagar police launched a massive vehicle-checking drive. On spotting the police, the driver abandoned the truck and fled.When police chased him, he allegedly opened fire after reaching beneath the Vishwa Sundari Bridge over the Ganga, Singh said. In retaliatory firing by the police, he sustained a bullet injury in the leg. Police seized a country-made pistol and cartridges from his possession and rushed him to hospital.The accused was later identified as Mohd Ejaj (30), a resident of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar. Police said six cases of cattle smuggling were already registered against him. The police rescued 30 cattle and seized the truck.In Ghazipur, Kasimabad CO Anubhav Rajarshi said that during patrolling, Mardah police received a tip-off about a cattle-laden truck heading towards the Bihar border. When police cordoned off the highway and attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver abandoned the truck on Lalapurwa Nahar Road and fled on foot.After seizing the truck, police rescued 17 live cattle and recovered 13 dead animals from it before launching a search operation. Rajarshi said that when the police closed in near the Raipur-Baghpur area, the accused, finding himself surrounded, allegedly opened fire on the police. In retaliatory firing, he sustained a bullet injury in the leg and was arrested. Police recovered a country-made firearm and cartridges from him and shifted him to hospital. He was identified as Javed Alam (27), a resident of Azamgarh district.
