India: The officers of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) in association with the state forest department's wildlife crime control unit, arrested two persons from Bongaon on Saturday and rescued as many as 22 pieces of rare turtles, all protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.

While talking to TOI, an official said that working on a tip off, they raided a market in Thakurnagar area and arrested the duo, identified as Kapil Dey and Milan Haldar. While Dey is a resident of Bongaon, Milan lives in the nearby Korola village.

"We have rescued three ganges softshell turtles, 12 Indian softshell turtles and 6 Indian pond turtles. Four dead ganges softshell turles and three dead Indian softshell turtles were also found," said the official.

The Indian softshell turtle and ganges softshell turtle are species of softshell turtle found in South Asia in rivers such as the Ganges, Indus and Mahanadi. They have been classified as 'threatened' by the IUCN.

Indian pond turtle is also a species of turtle found in South Asia. It is a medium-sized fresh water turtle and is considered near threatened by the IUCN. WCCB officials said that the accused will be produced in court on Sunday.

Recently, 15 Indian softshell turtles were seized from Galiff Street. Before this, several threatened species of turtles and tortoises were seized from two traders in Sodepur.

(Source: Time of India)