270 freshwater turtles rescued, three detained

Police found over 270 freshwater turtles from a car of a villager at Noapara in Barasat on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) rushed to the spot where the empty car was standing. The officers found 270 freshwater turtles which were kept in some jute-made sacs inside the car. Police detained three persons in connection with the case and interrogated them.

The investigators said that many such similar incidents took place at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas in the recent times. The turtles are either brought to Kolkata or smuggled over the border to Bangladesh from Bongaon. The turtles are mostly sold for their meat.

The freshwater turtle is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Prevention Act and commercial exploitation of it involves imprisonment of three to seven years.

"The accused persons were trying to sell these turtles to the fish traders of different markets in Barasat. This place is not new to them as they had earlier sold the turtles in the fish markets of the area," the officer added.

It will be recalled that the West Bengal CID had seized huge number of freshwater turtles from Gaighata, Thakurnagar, Bongaon and Howrah. More than 30 persons were arrested for illegally smuggling the Indian flap-shelled turtles.

"These seizures and the arrest took place after police started to raid in different places across the state. The investigators found that large scale of illegal trade was carried out by a racket of inter-state criminals," the officer added.

The CID sometimes jointly conducts raids with police in different states and arrest accused persons. "This illegal trade has suffered a significant setback for our activities. Many other accused will be arrested soon," the officer further said.