Two cops attached to Manki police station in Uttara Kannada district and Udupi Coastal Security Police were arrested by Kota police for allegedly receiving bribe to facilitate the illegal trafficking of cattle to Kerala.
The Kota police arrested Vinod (37), a cop attached to Manki police station, and Santhosh (37) attached to Udupi Coastal Security Police on Tuesday night. While Vinod hails from Kumta in Uttara Kannada district, Santhosh is a native of Brahmavar in Udupi district.
Manhunt
Police have also launched a manhunt for other cops who were part of the racket but have gone into hiding. They are Raghavendra (constable attached to Kota police station), Balasubramanya (Sub Inspector in District Reserve Police), Prashanth (Head constable) and Chandrashekar (Constable) working in Udupi district.
The shocking incident of the involvement of cops in the illegal transportation of the cattle came to light when police had stopped a truck carrying cattle near Sasthana toll gate in Gudmi on July 12.
The police had arrested Shivanand, Sainuddhin, Maruti Narayan Naik, Sameer, Ganeshan and Hameed C H, and had also seized 13 oxen, six buffaloes and the truck used in the illegal trafficking.
A case was registered in Kota police station.
Info shared
During interrogation, the cattle lifters revealed that the cops were sharing information about the presence of police personnel on the route and were helping in the illegal transportation of the cattle.
Acting on the information, police arrested the cops and registered a case under sections 109, 119 and 213 read with 34 of IPC.
Udupi Superintendent of Police Nisha James visited Kota police station. The accused, who were produced before the court in Kundapur, have been remanded in judicial custody till July 30.