Cattle smugglers open fire at vigilantes, Bajrang Dal member hurt

A Bajrang Dal member was Thursday injured when alleged cattle smugglers opened fire at vigilantes chasing their mini-truck, police said.

The gang members sped off after hurling four cows from the vehicle during the high-speed chase caught on video by the vigilante group.

The police have booked five men, named by the Bajrang Dal members. No arrests were reported till the evening.

The incident took place around 3.45 am when Bajrang Dal members were tipped off about the cattle smugglers, an office bearer of the right-wing organisation said.

The vigilantes intercepted the vehicle in Gurgaon's sector 10. Sushil Chaudhary, Bajrang Dal's regional convenor, told PTI that the vigilantes chased the truck in their SUV.

During the chase, one of the smugglers opened fire and a bullet hit our Manesar unit convener Monu, he said.

Manjeet Singh, an office bearer of the gau raksha department of Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Haryana unit, said Monu, 26, was admitted at a private hospital in Gurgaon.

His condition was stated to be out of danger after an operation. He is still in the ICU for observation, Singh said.

A video clip of the chase, apparently shot by the vigilantes, later surfaced on social media. It showed the mini-truck speeding past a police barricade during the chase.

There were four cows in their pick-up van and during the chase the smugglers threw them out one by one in order to deter the vigilantes, Gurgaon police spokesperson Subhash Bokan told PTI.

Five people have been named in the FIR and a search is on for them. They have been identified as residents of Mewat region of the district, he added.

The FIR has been filed under Indian Penal Code sections 279 (rash driving), 307 (attempted murder) and 336 (act endangering the life of others) and under the Arms Act, police said.

They have also been booked under the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, 2015, which prohibits cow slaughter, trafficking and consumption of beef in the state, police added.