Sub Inspector Sandhya Topno was mowed down by a van while she was engaged in a vehicle-checking drive near Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi on Thursday, an officer said.

Topno, 32, was at Tupudana, on the outskirts of Ranchi, when the incident happened. Khunti and Gumla districts' police were reportedly chasing vehicles smuggling cattle. The Ranchi police also had information that some vehicles carrying cattle were about to pass through Tupudana. A police team was deployed on the highway.