HYDERABAD: Four persons who were involved in shooting a young cow to death and injuring a female buffalo in Dammagudem reserve forest in Vikarabad district were arrested by the police on Sunday. According to the police, the accused were out hunting when they mistook the cow for a deer and shot it.
The arrested are Mohd Azharuddin, Shaik Mahboob, R Ramchander and Mohd Rafi, while the main accused Imran is still absconding. Police also recovered one rifle, nine live rounds of ammunition and other material from the accused.
Police said that Imran, a realtor from Dabeerpura, owned a farmhouse at Timmalapur village, located close to the forest area in Dammagudem. He had a habit of hunting animals. A few days ago, he called up his friend Azharuddin in the city and told him that he wanted to hunt in the area near his farmhouse.
After they arrived at the farmhouse, Mahboob, Ramchander and Rafi, who belonged to the same village, joined them. After Mahboob conducted a recce on his bike in the forest area and gave a go ahead about no movement in the area, Azharuddin, Imran and others set out in Imran’s SUV.
After a while, they noticed two animals move in the forest area. Thinking it was a deer, Azharuddin shot it. However, on seeing the bodies, they realised that it was a cow and returned to the farmhouse. Later, they all went their separate ways to avoid the police. They were nabbed on Sunday and produced before the court.