Guwahati: Two most wanted international cattle smugglers were killed, and four police officers were injured in an ambush by miscreants in the Kokrajhar district. Wanted cow smugglers Akbar Banjara and his brother Salman Banjara were killed in the ambush by unidentified miscreants in the wee hours of Monday (April 18). Both smugglers were from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. UP police arrested them last week after a case was filed against them by Assam police in the Kokrajhar district. Assam police announced a bounty of 2 lakhs for Akbar Banjara. They were taken to Assam by a team of Kokrajhar police. Police sources said at 1:30 am, the two smugglers were being taken to the Jamduar area of the district by the police to identify smuggling routes along the Sankosh river.
The police vehicle carrying the duo “came under firing from militants”, following which the police officers jumped out of the car to take cover in nearby spots. The police personnel, after taking cover, retaliated, following which gunfire exchanges continued between the two sides for 10-12 minutes.
The two cattle smugglers were hit by bullets during the militant ambush and were declared dead by doctors in a local hospital.
Four police officers, including the officer in charge of Shree Rampur police station, Sanjay Rai and OC of Saraibeel PS Hafijur Rahman, suffered injuries and are undergoing treatment at local hospitals.
One AK-47 rifle, two magazines, 35 rounds of live ammunition and 28 rounds of empty bullet shells were recovered from the site.
Police sources claim that militant groups are helping the cow smugglers in the area for huge money exchange. The smugglers were involved in money laundering for cow smuggler networks in the North East, a part of which was given to the militant organization of the region. Akbar and Salman were involved in illegal gold smuggling from Myanmar, police sources said.
