EXPRESS INDIA (New Delhi) 28 January 08 93 turtles seized at Varanasi station
Varanasi, January 27 In two significant hauls, Government Railway Police (GRP) officers recovered 93 turtles and four country-made pistols from Varanasi Cantt railway station on Sunday.
During a routine check, GRP sleuths seized two sacks containing 93 turtles on Platform No 8.
Vijay Barnwal, a leper, admitted stashing the consignment for sale in the West Bengal markets, GRP station in-charge Paramhans Mishra told The Indian Express.
“The smuggler is suffering from leprosy. He has been arrested and case under Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 was booked against him. Two others, however, managed to escape,” he added.
A resident of Giridih in Jharkhand, Barnwal said that he had collected the turtles from the ponds of Khetasarai (Jaunpur). He wanted to sell them in West Bengal as there is a huge demand for fresh water turtles.
“Turtles are available at different prices between Rs 80 and Rs 100 per kg in Bengal. They are mostly found in Bandel and Burdwan. The demand prompted us to source fresh water turtles from Khetasarai (Jaunpur),” Barnwal said.
Ten days ago, 100 turtles were seized while the consignment was sent to West Bengal from Khetasarai, a GRP official said.
The turtles have been seized and handed over to state Forest Department officials, the official added.
In another haul, the GRP sleuths seized a plastic bag in which three country-made revolvers and a pistol had been hidden under a heap of popcorn, was found at Platform No. 5.
“The arms alongwith a magazine and ten cartridges in an abandoned bag on the platform suggest that the arms smugglers might have left them at the station owing to strict security checks at different points of the station,” Mishra said.
93 turtles seized at Varanasi station