Bovine smuggling: Questionably supported by four SSP rank officers, the blue-eyed police official continues to rule the Mughal road area for years

Bovine smuggling: Questionably supported by four SSP rank officers, the blue-eyed police official continues to rule the Mughal road area for years

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH: As the Mughal road belt remained a hotbed of bovine smuggling and drug peddling, those police officers who managed their postings on this route for years generated huge illegal income for themselves and for their seniors. Many police officials remained neck-deep involved in this high-profile trade.

Without the support of police and traffic police, such a huge illegal practice is not possible. This whole mafia runs in a tactful manner, as there are designated days for each and every vehicle to pass through the Surankote and Thanamandi areas. Just to dodge the public, once in a blue moon efforts used to take place by police to take action against bovine smuggling to show that police are active, but on the whole, those managing their postings on this route have generated a huge illegal income for top chairs who are part and parcel of this trade. A blue-eyed traffic police official who was earlier in executive police and was promoted by a former SSP Poonch managed to be posted at the Behramgalla-Mughal road route by changing his wing in 2021, and since then, he has enjoyed multiple postings in the same Surankote-Mughal road belt with the help of four SSP-rank police and traffic police officers. This clearly indicates that even SSP rank officers were involved in getting a share from the bovine smuggling mafia. The said official, who formed a good link with top officers, was seen repeatedly on the same route frequently from 2022 onwards and was still there up to the time of filing this report. Traffic police officials have a huge role to play as far as smooth passing of vehicles is concerned during night or day hours or during bad weather conditions. Not only some executive police officials, but a few traffic police officials also believe in enjoying their powers by generating huge income from bovine smuggling and other illegal trades. A number of vehicles pass through the said route, and it is impossible for police or traffic police officials to check each and every vehicle, and who knows how many anti-national forces and drug peddlers took undue advantage of this loophole and managed to transport drugs, weapons or other types of illegal things through vehicles meant for bovine smuggling. It’s a big question mark on the working of police and traffic police in the area that its officials are also involved in ensuring bovine smuggling by forming a hidden nexus with the smugglers. As the route is highly sensitive during winter or bad weather conditions, it is traffic police that play a big role in the transportation-related policies, so the bovine smugglers, some police and traffic officials work as per a secret playbook for ensuring bovine smuggling on the said route. Moreover, those SSP rank officers in the executive and traffic police, who have played a big role in the posting of the same traffic official repeatedly on the Mughal route, need to explain the reasons for giving the same official multiple chances on the same route. Although the issue of bovine smuggling remained in the media limelight, it’s unfortunate that no policy has been formulated by police to counter this mafia. The lack of a strong approach from the police side clearly shows that this mafia has full support of some police and traffic police officials, and in return, this mafia used to give heavy favour to the officials per vehicle. Will the top brass of police and traffic police intervene to address the issue, as the continuous bovine smuggling on the Mughal road route and the inability of police to take strong action have brought the credibility of police and traffic police to a low level?