Mangalore : Mohammed Ashfaq (25) of Jokatte, Nisar (25) of Neerpade, and Umar Farooq (28) from Madadka, Beltangady were arrested by the Bajpe police on Wednesday July 2 for allegedly stealing four cows from the shed of Bhaskar Kattemar at Kuppepadavu, after threatening the residents with swords.
The arrests were made after locals protested and the receipt of credible information. First, Nisar was arrested at Adoor on Tuesday July 1 night. The other two were arrested on Wednesday. It is learnt that the accused have cases pending against them for similar offences in at Karkala, Beltangady, Uppinangady, Sullia, Hosangady, Mudigere, Kadur, Teertahalli and other places. They were produced in court and sent to judicial custody for 15 days.
The Police also seized a Tata Sumo and and an Alto car from them in which the back seats were removed in order to transport the cattle. A further five persons are being sought by the police in the case.
The stolen cattle were meant to be sold in places like Bantwal, Beltangady, Uppinangady, Madikeri and some other towns. It is learnt that the accused used to steal the cattle in the night after 11 PM and have stolen more than a thousand cattle till date.
Sources say that Ashfaq attempted to be a modern day Robin Hood, – he would distribute part of his ill-gotten wealth among the poor in Jokatte, but would ruthlessly attack anyone who came in the way of his illegal enterprise.
The investigation was conducted under the direction of Panambur ACP Ravikumar, by SI Narasimhamurthy, PSI H M Poovappa, and police personnel Rajesh, Seetaram Gowda, Shashidhar, Jayanand, Lucas, Abusali, and Prakash.
