An alleged cow smuggler was shot dead and his accomplice injured in an encounter with the Haryana Police near Thanesar town in the wee hours on Sunday, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Abid (27) of Yamunanagar and his injured accomplice is Ashraf (28), also of Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police (SP) Simardeep Singh said.

Police received information about cow smuggling taking place in the early hours. A police party reached Anaj Mandi and tried to stop the smugglers, who opened fire on them, he alleged. The policemen retaliated in which Abid died while Ashraf was injured, he said.

The SP said police had registered some eight cases of cattle smuggling against the two in the past. In the firing by smugglers, a police vehicle was badly damaged, he said. However, no policeman was injured in the encounter.

Police have confiscated the vehicle used by the smugglers, he said.  Singh said the cattle smugglers were using the vehicle for smuggling cows. Sources said three other smugglers managed to escape under the cover of darkness.

Haryana Government has recently brought into effect Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act that bans cow slaughter and prohibits transportation of cows for sale to other states.

Singh said two cows and as many bulls were found in the rear of the vehicle. One country-made revolver, four live cartridges and a mobile phone were recovered from near the body of the deceased.

The SP said that an FIR under section 307 of IPC, 25-54-59 of the Arms Act, and 13(2) of the Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act 2015, have been registered at Thanesar City police station.

He said the Deputy Commissioner has asked the Thanesar Sub-Divisional Magistrate to conduct an inquiry into the encounter. This might be the first

case under the newly-ena

cted Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, the SP said.