VARANASI, Jan. 23 -- Sonbhadra police arrested two alleged cattle smugglers following an encounter near the Khakhe Mor canal bridge intersection in Kewali village under the Ghorawal police station area during the early hours of Thursday. The accused were identified as Siddhanath Kharwar (29) and Omprakash Yadav (30), both residents of Bihar, police said.

Circle officer Ghorawal Rahul Pandey said that acting on a tip-off that cattle being transported from the Madhya Pradesh border to Bihar in a pickup truck without a number plate, the police team cordoned off the area near Khakhe Mor. Finding themselves surrounded, the smugglers allegedly tried to ram the vehicle into the police team, injuring a head constable, and later opened fire at th...