Guwahati: At least 40 cattle heads saved from smugglers have died at Bokakhat police station in upper Assam’s Golaghat district due to alleged negligence of the cops.
Locals said the cows in the truck died due to alleged suffocation on Monday morning.
The smuggled cattle heads were seized by police from a truck on Sunday night at Bokakhat when they were being taken to Samaguri from Rajabari.
However, Bokakhat police allegedly did not take care of the cattle heads rescued from the smugglers.
“The animals were allegedly tightly packed in the vehicle and there was no space left for the cattle to move their heads. However, the police did not take any steps to take out the cows from the truck. As a result, all of them died due to suffocation,” said a local.
The cattle heads could have been saved if they were taken out immediately after the seizure, he added.
Bokakhat police arrested the driver of the vehicle, identified as Musharaf Hussain, in connection to the seizure.