Gurugram, Apr 10 (IANS): Five cattle smugglers from Haryana's Nuh district have been arrested in Gurugram after a 22-km chase by a group of cow vigilantes who later handed over the accused to the police.

In a video that surfaced, the smugglers could be seen in their truck with deflated tyres and throwing the animals in front of the cow vigilante's vehicles to stop them from chasing.

The arrested persons have been identified as Yahya, Ballu, Tasleem, Khalid a.k.a. Bhainsa, and Sokin a.k.a. Sunda.

A few country-made pistols and live bullets were recovered from the cow smugglers, police said.

"These cow smugglers were caught after a chase of 22 km. We signalled them to stop but despite our warnings, they speed up their vehicle and even threw cattle on the road to block our way or divert our mind," Mohit a.k.a. Monu, the complainant and a member of the cow vigilante group said on Sunday.

He said during the chase the tyre of the truck got ripped apart. Even then, they kept driving the truck. But after 22 km of the chase, 5 cow smugglers were nabbed near Ghamdoj toll plaza on Sohna road, while 2 other cow smugglers managed to escape due to dark.

Mohit told the police that in the early hours of Saturday, they and other cow vigilantes received a tip-off that smugglers were coming from the Delhi side after loading cattle in a truck. Thereafter, he, along with his other teammates, laid a blockade near the Ambience Mall on the Delhi-Gurugram border on the Expressway.

An FIR has been registered against the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sections of the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, 2015 at Bhondsi police station.