States » EastPosted at: Nov 9 2026 10:46PM


Two held as forest officials seize 230 freshwater turtles near Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Nov 9 (UNI) Forest officials seized around 230 live Indian flapshell turtles from a Kolkata-bound vehicle at Pipili near Bhubaneswar in Odisha’s Khurda district and arrested two suspected wildlife smugglers.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of forest officials, assisted by police, intercepted the vehicle and recovered the turtles from its dickey. The arrested persons were identified as Madan Kumar Maiti of Bathuary village and Gautam Jana of Gangadhar village in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district.
“All the turtles were released into a nearby river on November 8,” said Susanta Kumar Bandha, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Khurda Forest Division. The arrested persons booked under Sections 9, 27, 29, 31 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. A local court rejected their bail pleas on November 9 and remanded them in judicial custody, " Bandha said.
Wildlife activists have raised concern over the continued smuggling of freshwater turtles from Odisha to neighbouring states, particularly West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of the Wildlife Society of Odisha, said the illegal trade was rampant in districts such as Malkangiri and Balasore.
More than 11,000 freshwater turtles had been seized in Odisha over the past decade, but possibly over one lakh had been smuggled out of the State during the period, he said. UNI MK CDS
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