New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) The police have arrested a member of an interstate gang which used to pick stray cows for slaughter, officials said on Monday.

Altamash (23) was nabbed from central Delhi's Daryaganj area, they said.

The gang lifted cows which were unattended on the streets and slaughtered them at isolated places. They later sold the beef at meat shops. In some cases, they took the meat to Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh to sell them, police said.

On July 20, Rakesh Kumar, a manager at a temple in Geeta Colony here complained that some people had seen five people unloading something from a car near the temple area. However, on seeing them, the five had fled.

Kumar alleged in his complaint that the men chased the car in which the five were travelling but could not catch them. But they found a dead cow after they returned to the spot where they had noticed the five accused, the police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said footage of over 60 CCTV cameras were analysed and the route taken by the accused was mapped. The vehicle (in which they had fled) was later found parked in front of the LNJP hospital following which the vehicle was taken into custody."

The officer said Altamash, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, was arrested from Daryagang here after the team raided his hideout.

When interrogated, Altamash admitted that he was an active member of a interstate gang picked stray cows for slaughter, police said.

He along with co -accused Anas, Saleem, and Arkam slaughtered a cow in the Geeta Colony area, he said.

"Altamash used to pick the stray cows and used to slaughter it for beef and further sold it to Akram. Our teams are trying to nab the absconding men involved in the case," the DCP said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)