Two men and two cows inside an SUV were killed in an accident early on Friday on NH6 at Haldia More near East Midnapore’s Kolaghat.

As the cows were tied up to the car seats of an SUV, prompted police to launch an inquiry into the incident following allegations of cattle smuggling by BJP leaders.

Sources said the deceased were identified as Aditya Adhikari and Mohammed Mumtaz, South 24-Parganas residents. A third man, found critically injured, can’t yet give a statement, additional police chief (Tamluk headquarters) Syed M.M. Hasan said.

The police said the incident occurred around 4am when the speeding Innova, coming from Kharagpur, rammed into a trash dumper waiting at a highway divider.

A police officer blamed poor visibility for the incident. Prima facie, it appears that the cows were being smuggled from Kharagpur, he said. The police buried their carcasses.

Local BJP leaders blamed involvement Trinamul for “widespread” and “inhumane” cow smuggling along the Odisha border of this district.