Pune: Daund police have booked son of a former municipal councillor and husband of a serving municipal councillor on charges of smuggling cows for slaughtering them On Friday (July 31). Deputy Superintendent of Police Aishwarya Sharma has rescued 13 cows from the possession of the suspects and relocated them in a cow shelter.
The suspects have been identified as Vicky Dilip Bansode (25), resident of Vadar Galli, Daund and Kalu alias Bastian Anthony Philip (53), a resident of Idgah Road, Daund. They have been charged under sections of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Indian Penal Code. Vicky Bansode is the son of a former councillor while Philip is the husband of a serving councillor. Police Constable Ravindra Kale has filed a complaint against them at Daund police station. Bansode has been arrested by police, while Philip is still absconding.
The rescued 13 cows have been relocated to a cow shelter home in the taluka. Police Inspector Sunil Mahadik, Assistant Inspector Rishikesh Adhikari along with police personnel Shrirang Shinde, Kalyan Shingade, Annasaheb Deshmukh, Sachin Borade, Amjad Sheikh, Akshay Ghodke, Nandkumar Kekan, Subhash Doiphode, Ganesh Kadale and Surendra Oval took part in the rescue operation.
According to the information given by Daund police, On July 31, Deputy Superintendent of Police (IPS) Aishwarya Sharma received a tip-off that cows were being smuggled for slaughter in a shed near Vighne Vasti on the banks of river Bhima in Daund.
DySP Sharma along with the police team visited the said location and found that 13 cows were kept in a confined space of three rooms in Vicky Bansode's possession. When police interrogated him about where the cows were brought from, Bansode revealed that the cows were brought for slaughter at the behest of Kalu Philip. However, he could not furnish any proof about who the cows belonged to or how they were brought.
Meanwhile, due to lack of enforcement in the municipal council jurisdiction, sizable livestock is slaughtered illegally near the Bhima river bank, Khatik street, Qureshi street and other areas in Daund.