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Ludhiana: Man held for illegal parrot trade, decoy operation leads to arrest
A man in Ludhiana was arrested for attempting to sell protected parakeets during a police sting operation, with a case filed under the Wildlife Protection Act.
A 30-year-old man was arrested in Ludhiana after a joint team of the police and wildlife department caught him red-handed while attempting to sell a pair of protected rose-ringed parakeets during a decoy operation.
The accused, identified as Vishal Grover, a resident of Lehri Nagar in Mundian Kalan, was taken into custody and a pair of parrots was recovered from his possession.
A case has been registered against him under Sections 2, 39, 48, 48A, 49, 50 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act on the complaint of Range Officer (Wildlife) Anu.
Officials said they had received a tip-off regarding the illegal trade of parrots, following which a decoy operation was planned. Wildlife officials posed as customers and approached the accused, striking a deal to purchase a pair of parrots for ₹5,000, while the Jamalpur police were alerted to coordinate the raid.
As soon as Grover handed over the birds to the undercover officials, the police team moved in and apprehended him on the spot, foiling the transaction.
During preliminary questioning, the accused claimed that he had procured the parrots from an unidentified person near Samrala Chowk and maintained that it was his first such deal. However, officials said they suspect the involvement of a larger network and are probing further.
Station house officer Dalvir Singh said the accused was produced before a court on Sunday for remand. “We are interrogating him to ascertain whether he has been involved in similar activities in the past and to trace the source of the birds,” he added.
Under the Wildlife Protection Act, native Indian species of birds and animals cannot be caged or traded, while certain exotic species are permitted for trade.
