Gurgaon, Feb 15 (IANS): Four cattle smugglers were Sunday arrested near the Kherki Daula toll plaza on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway after a hot chase by police and members of a cow protection group, an official said.

Four cattle smugglers from Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh were arrested and 13 cattle were recovered from the truck in which the livestock were being ferried.

Police and the members of Gau Raksha Dal, chased a container truck from Bilaspur on Delhi-Jaipur National Highway 8 and managed to stop it near Kherki Daula toll plaza.

Four members of a smuggling gang were arrested while another managed to flee after open firing at police and the Gau Raksha Dal members.

Cattle smugglers also rammed their vehicle into one of the cars of the cow protection group chasing them.

No one was hurt in the firing by the smugglers.

The Kherki Daula police have registered a case of attempt to murder and under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. A senior police official said they were interrogating the arrested men.

The cattle were being smuggled from Rajasthan to Delhi for slaughtering.

The rescued cows were shifted to a shelter home in Gurgaon.