A late-night confrontation unfolded in Mawana town of Meerut district after a police team tracked down men allegedly preparing to slaughter cattle in a sugarcane field. In the exchange of fire near the canal track on Atoura Road, police retaliatory shots hit one suspect in the leg, while his accomplice managed to slip away using the darkness and the dense crop as cover. The injured suspect was arrested and rushed for treatment, and police are now searching for the man who fled.
An informer's tip led police to the field
Mawana police station received a tip from an informer that two men had taken a calf into a sugarcane field near the canal track on Atoura Road to slaughter it. Acting on the information, a police team rushed to the spot and quietly surrounded the field. When officers ordered the men to surrender, the suspects instead opened fire on the police team with a pistol. Police were forced to fire back in self-defence, and one of the men was hit in the leg.
Who was caught, who fled, and what was recovered
The injured suspect was identified as Bilal, son of Riyazuddin alias Riyazu, a resident of Mohalla Kalyan Singh on Idgah Bypass Road in Mawana town. He was arrested and admitted to the Community Health Centre in Mawana for treatment. His accomplice, who escaped, was identified as Bhoora alias Javed, son of Mahfooz alias Chatoo, a resident of Falawada Road in Mawana. Police say combing operations are underway in nearby areas to track him down. A search of the site turned up a live calf, an illegal.315 bore pistol, one live cartridge and one spent cartridge shell, along with slaughter equipment including two knives and two other tools known locally as a summa and a daab. A case has been registered at Mawana police station under FIR number 311/2026, invoking Section 109(1) of the BNS, Sections 3/25/27 of the Arms Act, and Sections 3/5/8 of the Uttar Pradesh Cattle Slaughter Prevention Act, with further legal proceedings underway.
Both accused already had criminal records
Police records show that Bilal, the arrested suspect, already had cases registered against him in 2020, 2022 and 2026, including under the Cattle Slaughter Prevention Act. The absconding accused, Bhoora alias Javed, has a far longer criminal history, with a total of seven cases registered against him between 2016 and 2026 under sections covering assault, rioting, attempted murder, the Cattle Slaughter Prevention Act and the Gunda Control Act. Police say every effort is being made to arrest the fugitive quickly, and search operations continue in surrounding villages.
