J&K Police ASI killed as smugglers ram through police checkpoint

An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the J&K Police was killed on Sunday morning by bovine smugglers who attempted to dodge a checkpoint and struck the officer while fleeing the scene in Samba district.

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Officials informed that ASI Yog Raj Singh, along with his team, had set up a check-point on the border road at Pulpur in the Supwal area following information about possible attempts by smugglers to transport bovine animals.

They said that when the police team tried to stop the vehicle, a mini load carrier, at around 4.15 am, the driver jumped the barricades and rammed into them, resulting in injuries to the ASI and another policeman.

The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where the ASI succumbed to his injuries. The officials stated that the police have registered a case and recovered the vehicle, which was found abandoned in a nearby area, while a hunt is underway to identify and arrest the culprit.

Protest demonstrations were held by locals of Samba against the incident, who claimed that bovine smuggling was increasing in various regions of J&K in recent times. The protesters said that strict punishment should be given to bovine smugglers so that they do not repeat such crimes in future.

Samba and Kathua police have foiled multiple bovine smuggling bids in the recent past, where animals were being transported in modified oil tankers and other vehicles. There were also cases where smugglers carried bovine animals in passenger cars.