SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Dec 9: A special task force of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Crime Investigation Branch (CIB) seized 60 live Indian flapshell turtles from Train No. 13010, the Rishikesh–Howrah Doon Express, at Dhanbad Railway Station on Tuesday. Two individuals were also arrested in connection with the incident.
RPF official Arvind Kumar Ram stated that the turtles were being transported from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh to the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
Also Read- Rahul Gandhi, in Lok Sabha, alleges RSS influence, institutional capture, electoral malpractices
The arrested individuals have been identified as Ram Das, also known as Hemendra Prasad Das (50), from Khardaha, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, and Himanshu Baidya (50) from Gudurpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh.
According to the official, under the directive of the Divisional Safety Commissioner, the special task force conducted a search operation on the train at Gomoh Railway Station.
When the train arrived at Platform No. 2 of Dhanbad Station, the team recovered a bag containing the turtles in a general coach. Initially, no passenger claimed ownership of the bag.
Also Read- Union Home Ministry approves IPS promotion for five Jharkhand DSPs
However, during interrogation, the two arrested individuals admitted that the turtles belonged to them and confirmed they were being transported to West Bengal.
This marks the third seizure of turtles from trains at Dhanbad Railway Station in a month. Earlier, 78 turtles were recovered on November 7, and 35 turtles were seized on December 3.
