BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 29th March 2025: An incident of cow smuggling took place in the Anandabazar area of Dharmanagar subdivision late last night leading to the vandalism of a vehicle and the recovery of five Burmese cows. Police rescued the injured driver of the vehicle from the scene, who is now undergoing treatment at North Tripura District Hospital in Dharmanagar.
Local residents intercepted a Bolero pickup van bearing registration number TR05G1794 after it attempted to transport smuggled cattle from Shanichara to Fatikroy. According to eyewitness accounts, three other similar vehicles managed to flee the scene when locals tried to intervene. “We stopped one vehicle and recovered five cows, but the other vans escaped. The car was extensively vandalized,” said a resident of Anandabazar.
The driver of the stopped vehicle, identified as Fakhar Uddin from Panisagar subdivision’s Rua Gorjan Tila area, sustained serious injuries in the scuffle with residents. “Four pickup vans left Shanichada last night carrying cows to Fatik Roy. When locals tried to stop us, three cars fled, while my van was attacked and vandalized,” Fakhar Uddin revealed from his hospital bed. He further alleged that the cows belonged to Liton Das, alias Nantu Das, a notorious cow smuggler from Ramnagar, while the vehicle’s owner was Gobinda Malakar.
Local people claimed that police inaction has emboldened cow smugglers in the area. “This happens almost daily. Liton Das smuggles cows openly, but the police are reluctant to act. There seems to be an understanding between them and the smugglers,” complained a resident.
The recovered cows were sent to Gorakhnath Goshala for safekeeping, while tensions remain high in Anandabazar. A source close to the investigation warned that if authorities fail to act against Liton Das and his associates, residents may resort to taking the law into their own hands. “People are frustrated. If this continues, we will be forced to stop the smugglers ourselves,” said the source.
