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The Dattawadi police have seized 5 turtles from a pet shop owner Tushar Karde and booked him under the sections 9, 39 and 40  wildlife protection act 1972.

On Saturday 5 dec, acting on a tip off a team lead by API Naikwadi and PSI Mrs Mane a pet shop owner was caught red handed with 2 turtles that are understood to be  Indian Tent Turtles.  These turtles are originally found in Ganges in the North and rivers in the North East. The species is highly protected and covered under schedule I of Indian Wildlife Protection.

The accused was produced in the court on Sunday, Dec 6 and remanded to 1 day police custody. Further investigation lead to discovery of three soft shelled turtles in his Godown…. also a species protected under the wildlife protection act. It has been found that the accused has been routinely buying the turtles from markets in Mumbai and sellers in Sangli.

The accused was caught red-handed with 20 turtles and 10 parrots over a year ago and was released on bail after being booked under the Section 11 of the  Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.

The accused has been remanded to two day police custody today (dec 7). Police are hoping to unearth a major racket of illegal animal poaching and smuggling that exists in the state.

My quotes…. “I am really happy to see the police work so hard and crack the case, their strong team work and eagerness to learn has left me speechless, I really had little role to play in the case due to their determination and dedication… I only needed to advise them on certain aspects, everything else in this case was handled by them on their own motivation”