Fifteen dead oxen were found abandoned in a truck near the Vasant Kunj area on Sunday morning.
According to the police, they received a PCR call reporting of a stench from an abandoned parked truck bearing a Haryana registration number along NH-8 near the link road.
On reaching the spot, we found 15 dead oxen in the truck. The driver and the cleaner were not present, said Devendra Arya, DCP (South West).
He added that it seemed that the animals were abandoned in the truck for over two days and had died because of the heat and hunger, the DCP said. Efforts were on to identify the vehicle owner for further information and a police team has been sent to Haryana for the same, the police said.
Locals staged a protest against the killing of the animals and the police suspect that the driver and the clear might have fled fearing mob violence after finding the animals dead.
The carcass of the dead animals have been sent to a veterinary hospital in Masoodpur and the cause of death will only be ascertained after post-mortem report is out.
A case under IPC section 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle) registered at Vasant Kunj (South) police station, the police said.
