Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): A bag full of 15 Indian Flapshell turtles were seized during vehicle checking in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior on Wednesday. The smugglers manged to flee though.
The turtles found in the bag were of a rare species, which are not easily found.
Police took the turtles under surveillance and informed the Forest Department and Zoo management and handed them over to their custody.
According to the ASP Traffic Anu Beniwal, the traffic police team was conducting checking at the DD Nagar point on Bhind Road in the city. During the checking drive, a bike was seen coming from Bhind.
The two young men on the bike were carrying a bag. Seeing the bag, the cops became suspicious about the bikers and signaled the them to stop. Upon signaling to stop, the riders increased their speed and fled.
The police, assuming the riders were vehicle thieves, alerted the police team ahead. Station House Officer Abhishek Raghuvanshi and his team surrounded the riders near the Pinto Park Tank intersection. They then left the bag in a panic and fled.
Taking the bag under surveillance, the policemen opened it and were stunned to find 15 Indian flapshell turtles, which are prohibited for sale and are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. The police suspect the turtles were being smuggled. The matter was immediately reported. A case has been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act.
The youth who were carrying a bag full of turtles were coming from Bhind. The police suspect that the turtle smuggling is linked to Bhind. The police team is scanning the CCTV cameras installed in DD Nagar and Pinto Park area from Bhind Road, so that clues about the turtle smugglers can be found.
