Mangaluru : The city police on Friday arrested three persons allegedly involved in the theft of a cow from the Amurthadhara Go Shala in Kairangala on the outskirts of the city last month.

The police gave the names of the accused as Ahmed Kabir of Bengre, Aboobaker Siddiq from Manjeshwar and Mohammed Imran from Ullal.

The three accused reportedly came in a car to the Go Shala run by Raghaveshwara Bharati, seer of Ramachandrapura Mutt, on March 29. They drove away with a cow, while a staff from the Go Shala managed to rescue another cow that was being taken away. This led Rajaram Bhat, caretaker of the Go Shala, and others to carry out a hunger strike for nine days demanding the arrest of the accused.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Uma Prashanth said that the three arrested persons were the ones who stole the cow from the Go Shala. The police have recovered the car in which the accused took away the cow.

Inquiry of the arrested persons, Ms. Prashanth said, revealed their involvement in other cases of cattle theft reported in Ullal, Kankanady and Konaje police limits. A search is on to trace others involved in the theft, she said.