Chikmaglur, Aug 31: A racket of inter-state cattle thieves busted when three Hindutva activists were arrested while illegally trafficking cattle at Kundur border near Mudigere in Chikmagluru district on Thursday midnight.
The arrested have been identified as 29-year-old Lohit from Bilagula in Mudigere taluk, 30-year-old Moorthy from Kallalli village and 29-year-old Kaushik. Another two Hindutva activists-Puneeth from Markal village and Gagan from Maddikere- managed to escape from the spot.
On August 28 midnight the accused gained entry into the house of one Krishne Gowda in Haluvalli village. While they were trying to cattle, Krishne Gowda woke up from the sleep and tried to stop them. However, the Hindutva activist assaulted him brutally before tying him with rope and suffocated him by stuffing clothes in his mouth. They then stole three cows and calves in a Mahindra Maxima vehicle bearing registration number KA 18, E 2061.
Meanwhile, wife of Krishne Gowda woke up and untied her husband. Both of them began to chase the vehicle in their two-wheeler. Fortunately, the cattle-laden vehicle met with minor accident when the driver lost his control.
With the help of locals, Krishne Gowda managed to catch hold of three of the Saffronists and two others fled the scene.
Interestingly, all the accused were forerunners while protesting against the increasing instances of cattle thefts in the region.
A police officer from the special team said: "The accused stole cattle mainly from Shimoga, Mudigere, N R Pura and Chikmagalur and sold it to Hasan, Belur. They got a minimum of Rs 22,000 to Rs 30,000 per load/trip depending on the weight. It was a profitable venture for them."
Cracking the cattle theft case is seen as a major success for the special team.
They had also planned to create communal unrest by blaming Muslims and Christians for their misdeeds.
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