A 23-year-old man has been arrested and five Indian softshell turtles recovered from his possession which he had allegedly bought from west Delhi's Inderpuri, police said today.
The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, under which the species has been termed endangered, they said.
The accused, Aman, a resident of Madangir, accompanied by two of his friends was allegedly transporting the turtles from Inderpuri to his house, the police said.
The trio had stopped at Ridge on February 3. A motorcycle patrol team saw the trio seating in the car and approached them, they said.
The police personnel asked Aman to show his driving license and asked the trio to come out of the car. As soon as they came out of the car, they fled in different directions, police said.
Police recovered five turtles from the car of the trio.
Subsequently, Aman was nabbed from southeast Delhi's Madangir while two of his friends are on the run.
During interrogation, Aman revealed that he was taking the turtles for his father-in-law, who is suffering from tuberculosis. It is believed that consumption of turtles can help cure tuberculosis.
He told police that he had procured them from an old woman in Inderpuri. Police are on the lookout for the woman as well as the other accused.
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