A man from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested for smuggling turtles. He was caught by Delhi Police after a tip-off led them to set up a trap. The police team, led by Inspector Satyawan, kept watch in areas like Raja Ram Kohli Marg and under the Pusa Road flyover in Geeta Colony. This operation resulted in the arrest of a 38-year-old man named Bheem and the recovery of 100 baby turtles from him.
Bheem, involved in smuggling turtles and other species, revealed during interrogation that a case had recently been filed against his associate, Ravi Bhatnagar, at Nandgram Police Station in Ghaziabad for a similar crime. Bheem confessed that he sourced the turtles from the Ganga river in the Garhmukteshwar area, also known as Garh Ganga, and from nearby rivers.
DCP (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary mentioned that a search was ongoing to capture Bhatnagar. On Tuesday, Bheem was spotted by the police team around 1:15 pm riding a scooter with a large bag from Shakarpur. Identified by an informant as the suspected smuggler, Bheem was stopped, and upon inspecting the bag, the police found several live turtles. Bheem couldn’t provide a satisfactory explanation for possessing the turtles, leading to his arrest and the seizure of his scooter and the turtles.
The Delhi Police have filed a case against Bheem at Geeta Colony Police Station under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The Wildlife Department has also been informed about the seizure.