The five men, who were arrested in Ambernath on Sunday for allegedly slaughtering three cows and selling beef, will be produced in court on Monday. The police have also sent three flesh samples, they had seized during the arrest, to Kalina forensic lab to test if it is cow beef.

On Sunday morning at 5.30 am, a few residents of Ambernath alerted the cops claiming some people had allegedly killed cows in Ulanchad area of Ambernath. The cops then reached the place to find three dead cows and rescued two calves.

The five accused, identified as Shafi Ibrahim Quereshi, 40, Riyaz Mohammed Shaikh, 38, Azad Nizamuddin Quereshi, 26, Sajjad Nizamuddin Quereshi, 33, and Yusuf Kashif Shaikh, 45, have allegedly been doing this work from the past few months.

However, police are yet to investigate where the cattle was bought, how much did they pay for it and who are the purchasers.

A police officer from Ambernath police station said, “We will produce the accused in court and will investigate the matter once they are remanded in our custody. The family members of the accused say they were not aware of any such activities.”

The accused were booked under Section 429, 34, of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act 1995.