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Four Indian star tortoises rescued from Thane shop
The Thane forest officials rescued four Indian star tortoises from a shop selling aquariums at Vasant Vihar in Thane on Monday. The shop owner was arrested.
The Thane forest officials rescued four Indian star tortoises from a shop selling aquariums at Vasant Vihar in Thane on Monday. The shop owner was arrested.
“After a tip-off, the Thane forest officials went to the shop selling aquariums on Monday. Four star tortoises were kept in a plastic bucket. When we questioned the shop owner about the tortoises, he was unable to give satisfactory answers. We seized the tortoises from the shop,” said a senior forest official.
“Shiva Nadar, 32, the shop owner, was arrested for illegally keeping the star tortoises in his shop to sell them. He has been arrested under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and was produced in the court. The court has remanded him in police custody till October 22,” added the official.
The Indian star tortoises are classified as protected species and it’s illegal to buy or sell them.
“The accused was about to sell the tortoises in a few days. However, he did not disclose from where he had brought the tortoises.
The medical tests of the tortoises will be done tomorrow to identify their exact weight and age. Till then, they will kept at the Thane forest department office at Thane Nagar,” said an official from Thane forest department.
