Uttarakhand police bust wildlife smuggling racket, rescue 293 turtles; 2 arrested

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the smugglers used to bring turtles from Etah and Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, and sell them in Dineshpur area of US Nagar for around ₹10,000 per kg

The Uttarakhand police on Tuesday arrested two people from Udham Singh Nagar district and recovered 293 turtles from their possession, as the third accused escaped arrest. The police have registered FIR against all three accused under relevant sections of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, officials said.

The two accused in the custody of US Nagar police after they recovered 293 turtles from their possession on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

“We had received a tip-off about the smuggling of turtles in Udham Singh Nagar. We formed a team that conducted checking in Dineshpur area. The police stopped the vehicle and arrested two people, and recovered 293 live turtles kept in six sacks. The third smuggler succeeded in escaping from the spot,” Manjunath TC, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Udham Singh Nagar district said.

The smuggled turtles weighed around 284 kilograms, he said.

The accused have been identified as Mithun Mandal, a resident of Dineshpur and Prasenjit Mandal, a resident of Transit Camp in US Nagar. “The smuggler who escaped has been identified as Raju Majumdar resident of Udham Singh Nagar,” he said.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the smugglers used to bring turtles from Etah and Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, and sell them in Dineshpur area of US Nagar for around ₹10,000 per kg.

The accused used luxury vehicles to smuggle the turtles so that the police at check posts would not suspect them.

“They will be further questioned whether they are part of any larger wildlife smuggling gang,” Manjunath said.

This is not the first such incident in the state. Turtles are killed for their meat and are in good demand in areas such as Dineshpur, Transit camp and Shaktifarm.

On August 14, the US Nagar police recovered 10 turtles in Dineshpur and arrested a man who was carrying the animals in a jute bag for sale. On August 4, the state forest department arrested two people for smuggling turtles on the Haldwani-Sitarganj highway and rescued four of the reptiles. On August 1 this year, forest department recovered 20 turtles in US Nagar but the smugglers escaped from the spot after leaving the animals on the road during checking.

In September last year, forest officials rescued 53 turtles in the district and arrested two people. In March last year, police rescued 16 turtles in the Kichha area of the district and arrested two women. In December 2020, the police recovered 40 turtles from a man in Dineshpur. In March 2020, police recovered 25 turtles that were hidden in the bathroom of a house.