locals won’t buy the cock-and-bull story any more. Thousands of angry residents jammed Noida-Greater Noida Expressway for more than three hours after they found around 40 injured bovines lying unattended on the road. Four of them were found dead. A senior police official said that it appears that the truck driver had dumped the livestock after he noticed heavy police barricading on the highway.
An irate mob clashed with police and tried to stop and torch vehicles passing by. Senior officials immediately reached the spot and brought the tense situation under control on the assurance that the guilty would be dealt with.
According to police, the incident was reported early morning on the Expressway near Sector 159 when a truck from Noida heading towards Western UP, dumped the animals.
Around 1,500 people from Greater Noida and nearby villages gathered at the spot and blocked the route causing a major traffic jam on the whole 25 km stretch between Noida and Greater Noida. The villagers were demanding action against those who involved in cattle trade.
The crowd agreed to disperse after officials assured a detailed inquiry into the case would be conducted into the case and arrest the culpable. “We are conducting a detailed investigation and have lodged an FIR against unknown persons at Kasna Police Station. The carcasses have been sent for post-mortem, while the other strays have been kept at a cattle shed in Dankaur,” said
Anuraj Singh, Circle Officer of Greater Noida. It would be important to mention that this is the second incident of livestock trade in the last one month despite a special drive initiated by Noida police. last month, a truck, herded with 35 bovines was found abandoned due to a tyre burst on the Yamuna Expressway. The locals had blocked the Expressway for over five hours demanding police action.
Meanwhile, Yogesh Singh, Superintendent of Police (City) of Noida, along with two other policemen got injured on the Expressway while approaching the spot. The SP was on his way to pacify the mob when a speeding WagonR car hit his Ambassador car from behind. Singh and other police persons suffered neck and limb injuries and were immediately taken to Kailash Hospital in Noida where their condition was stated to be stable. Police has registered a case against the errant driver of the car at Greater Noida PS and arrested him. The identity of the driver has not been disclosed as yet.