JHARKHAND: In a major operation on Friday, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) seized over 1,000 live turtles from the New Delhi-Farakka Express at Barharwa station on the Sahibganj-Pakur railway line in Jharkhand. The RPF arrested three smugglers, two women and one man, in connection with the incident. The RPF had received information about turtle smuggling on the Farakka Express. During a search of the train at Barharwa station, several bags containing turtles were found. The number of turtles recovered is said to be over 1,000. The RPF has handed over the recovered turtles to the Forest Department, and interrogation of the arrested smugglers is ongoing.
The RPF was conducting a check at Barharwa station. During this, over 1,000 banned turtles of various sizes were recovered from the Down Farakka Express train (15744). Two women and one man were also arrested during the checking. All the turtles were being smuggled in 22 bags. Some smugglers managed to escape during the RPF operation. The RPF is currently conducting further investigations.
The Forest Department has also been informed by the RPF so that they can count the turtles and release them safely. The arrested smugglers are being interrogated. During interrogation, it was revealed that the turtles were loaded onto a train at Varanasi station and were being transported to Farakka.
The three smugglers arrested are residents of Sultanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. They include 25-year-old Karan Pathkar, 30-year-old Manju Pathkar, and Ushma Pathkar. Where were such a large number of turtles being brought from and under whose protection? According to RPF Inspector Sanjeev Kumar, initial investigations revealed that a prominent smuggler had given the turtles to two women and a man at Varanasi railway station to transport them to Farakka. An investigation is underway to determine where the smugglers obtained such a large quantity of turtles and under whose protection they were transporting them. Forest department officials have been informed, and the turtles will be safely released into the Ganges River.
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