Police recover 123 smuggled Indian softshell turtles

Police arrested a 40-year-old woman and recovered 123 Indian softshell turtles she allegedly smuggled from a village in UP, at Anand Vihar ISBT.
The accused has been identified as Oma, a resident of Etah district in UP. She had allegedly procured the turtles from a fisherman at her village for selling them off in Delhi-NCR at a higher price, said DCP (East) B S Gurjar.
Oma landed in the police net when a team patrolling at Anand Vihar ISBT stopped her yesterday to check her bags and recovered the smuggled turtles.
She has been booked under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, under which the concerned species are termed endangered, said police.

The police called up the Wildlife SOS rescue helpline and officials who rushed there found the turtles in very poor condition.
"The turtles have been transferred to the custody of Wildlife SOS, where they will be kept under observation until the court grants permission to release them into their natural habitat," said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS.