Attempted cow slaughter averted in UP; repeat offenders apprehended in armed clash
Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India 
20 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli district, the police foiled a major cow slaughter conspiracy and arrested two notorious cow smugglers following an encounter. The incident took place in the Salon Kotwali area, where both smugglers—Shahban and Dilshad—were shot in the legs during retaliatory police fire. They were apprehended in an injured state and admitted to the district hospital. According to available information, Shahban and Dilshad were preparing to slaughter cows near a deserted lake. Acting on a tip-off, the police reached the spot, where the miscreants opened fire with the intent to kill. In retaliatory firing, both smugglers were brought down. The arrested miscreants have been identified as Shahban Abba Rizwan, a resident of the Maharajganj police station area, and Dilshad Abba Safiq, a resident of Attanagar, Salon. Tools used for slaughtering cattle, country-made pistols, and cartridges were recovered from them. The Kotwali in-charge stated that both criminals were previously involved in heinous crimes like cow slaughter and were already on the police radar.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The cow is considered sacred in the Hindu religion. Often, cows are smuggled and slaughtered by non-Hindu perpetrators as a mark of insult to the Hindu faith. There have been several documented cases throughout history where cow smuggling and slaughtering are used as a method to insult the Hindu faith, convert Hindus (by force-feeding beef) and desecrate temples. In all cases of cow smuggling or slaughter, there is a suspicion of religious animosity against Hindus working as a motivating factor, however, in the absence of any concrete indication, this case is being categorised as Undecided. If more details emerge, it will be added to the Hate Crime Database.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
