Lohardaga police found 24 cattle being trafficked in an “oil tanker” at Kerwari under Kudu police station in Lohardaga district, around 75km west of Jharkhand capital Ranchi, along NH-75 on Wednesday morning.

According to Kudu police station OC Anil Oraon, they got information that an oil tanker had skidded off the road and turned sideways along NH-75.

“Considering it was an oil tanker we rushed to the spot while simultaneously informing the fire brigade unit in Lohardaga. We also pressed into service a crane in order to pull the oil tanker on to the road. However, while carrying out the exercise we could see noise of cattle coming from the oil tanker. The driver and other staff had escaped from the spot when we had arrived. We called the district animal husbandry unit after somehow opening the back portion of the oil tanker,” said the police official.

Out of 24 cattle nine were dead because of the impact of the accident.