Tension prevailed in Siddipet town in central Telangana following the slaughter of 16 cows on Friday.
The police said that eight men were arrested in this connection and were found to be repeat offenders, supplying beef to Hyderabad.
Protesting the slaughter, which is prohibited under law, activists of the BJP, VHP and other Hindu organisations held a rally demanding punishment for the culprits.
Siddipet police commissioner Joel Daivs said that on receiving information, they acted swiftly and arrested Mohammed Khaja, Md Rahim, Md Saddam, Md Arfat, Md Arshad, Md Ashraf, Md Javed and Md Zubair.
A criminal case was registered in the I-Town police station under 429 (killing, maiming cattle), 153 (provocation to cause riots) sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and the state's Prohibition of Cow Slaughter and Animal Preservation Act 1977.
"Those arrested procure aged cows from Siddipet and Karimnagar districts and supply the meat to a person in Hyderabad. They have confessed to having carried out such slaughter three times till now," Davis said.
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"We are probing the case and will ensure the trial is fast-tracked," the commissioner said. The situation in Siddipet is now peaceful, the police said.
Siddipet district came into being after the TRS came to power in 2014 and was represented earlier in the state Assembly by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and now by his nephew and Finance Minister Harish Rao.
Meanwhile, the Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishad, the dharmic wing of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams on Friday resolved to request the Union government to declare "Cow-Gomata" as the national animal.