Turtles rescued by Delhi Police
Delhi Police rescued almost 100 live turtles and nabbed a smuggler who had been smuggling turtles and other extinct species, the police said on Wednesday. A case has been registered against the accused under the Wild Life Protection Act and 11(A) Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act at the Geeta Colony police station.
The accused, Bheem, 38, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district was arrested by the police from Geeta Colony on Tuesday afternoon.
“We confiscated a total of 100 live turtles, which included 50 Indian-roofed turtles, 45 black-spotted pond turtles, three Indian eyed turtles (Schedule-I) and two Indian softshell turtles (Schedule-I),” the police said.
“Following a lead, around 1 p.m., a person was noticed coming on a scooter from Shakarpur carrying a big bag. Immediately the informer identified the driver as the suspected smuggler after which the accused was nabbed,” a senior official added.
On searching the bag, the police found several live turtles. The accused could not give any satisfactory answer regarding the possession of such turtles and bearing the sensitivity of the matter, the accused with the bag containing turtles, was brought to the police station.
