Lucknow/Prayagraj: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a fugitive accused carrying a reward of ₹50,000 in connection with a cow smuggling case registered in Chandauli district. The accused, identified as Afsar Ahmed Siddiqui, was apprehended from Ahmedabad in Gujarat on the night of March 11, 2026.
According to officials, the accused was wanted in Case No. 222/2023 registered at Saiyadraja Police Station under sections 3/5A/5B/8 of the Cow Slaughter Prevention Act and Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. A reward of ₹50,000 had been announced for information leading to his arrest.
Afsar Ahmed Siddiqui, son of Haseen Ahmed and a resident of Rupnarayanpur Sailaabi village in Kaushambi district, was arrested near the gate of Airomega Industries in the GIDC Vatva area under Vatva police station limits in Ahmedabad at around 10:25 pm.
The STF field unit of Prayagraj had been tracking absconding and reward-listed criminals for several days. Acting on intelligence inputs, a team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Shailesh Pratap Singh and Inspector Jai Prakash Rai carried out the operation and successfully nabbed the accused.
During interrogation, Siddiqui revealed that he originally hails from Kaushambi but had been working as a truck driver in Gujarat. He had purchased an old truck (GJ-01-CY-5702) and later gave it on agreement for ₹45,000 per month to another driver, Anubhav Tiwari alias Rahul of Pratapgarh district.
Police said that on October 28, 2023, the vehicle was used to transport 18 cattle from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal via Bihar. The truck was intercepted by Saiyadraja police near Naubatpur on National Highway-2 during a checking operation. However, the driver managed to flee from the spot. Later, Siddiqui’s name surfaced during investigation and a reward was announced for his arrest.
After the case came to light, the accused had been hiding in Gujarat to evade arrest. Following his detention, STF officials initiated legal procedures and presented him before the competent court in Ahmedabad to obtain a transit remand for further action.
