The Uttar Pradesh police arrested two men from Saharanpur district’s Talheri Bujurg village for allegedly slaughtering cows. Police said the accused opened fire when they raided a house in the area.

On Sunday, the police had got a tip-off that cows were being slaughtered at a house in Deoband area’s Talheri Bujurg. The station in-charge, Mukesh Dinkar, along with his team raided the house, this is when the accused opened fire at them. However, no one was injured in the firing.

Later, two accused – Abdul Jabbar and Arshad – were arrested from the spot. According to police, the third accused, Rabban, managed to run away.

“More than 15 kg of meat was seized from the house and sent to a laboratory for examination,” Saharanpur Superintendent of Police Prabal Pratap Singh said. The police recovered a knife and a country-made pistol from those arrested.

According to Hindi daily Amar Ujala, veterinarian Deepak Singh was first called to inspect the meat seized. After Singh said it appeared to be beef in the initial investigation, the sample was sent for further tests to the lab.

While cases have been lodged against the three persons under relevant sections, the police has launched a manhunt for the third accused.