Acting on a tip-off, Pathri police recovered five tortoises of two different breeds from a man who was going to sell them to a dealer in Dehradun. The police arrested him and later informed the Forest Department officials. The police now are trying to reach the dealer in Dehradun who is engaged in the business of selling wildlife and its derivatives.
While a policeman of Pathri police station was doing night patrolling on Monday he received the information that a person was taking tortoises after catching them from Ban Ganga river. Following this, a police team reached the site to find a man taking the captured tortoises in a plastic bag.
Speaking of the matter, SO Pathri police station Ajay Kumar Jatav said, “On receiving the information, our team reached the spot and we saw a man holding a plastic bag. When we asked him to show what the bag contained he tried to escape. However, he was arrested. As we searched the bag we found it containing five tortoises of two different breeds. During interrogation, the accused confessed his crime.”
The accused has been identified as Arun Kumar, resident of Sapera Basti Katarpur in Pathri. He used to supply tortoises to a dealer in Dehradun and get Rs 1 lakh in return. The dealer used to sell them in the international market at prices double the one he gave to the poacher, added SO. As Arun said he did not know the name and address of the supplier the police are on the lookout for the dealer.