One of the golden coin turtles —- TOI
Howrah: Howrah City Police rescued 42 live rare golden coin turtles allegedly being smuggled from Uttar Pradesh to Kolkata for use in Dhanteras rituals and arrested one person on Monday night. Golden turtles are sold as ritual items during Dhanteras, fetching between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh each, according to Howrah City Police and the forest department. Police have launched an investigation.
During questioning, Dube told police the turtles had been transported aboard Doon Express from Akbarpur in Uttar Pradesh to Burrabazar in Kolkata. Howrah Station Traffic Guard personnel spotted two men loading two sealed thermocol boxes into an app-based cab. Suspicious officers questioned them, but one man escaped into the station crowd. The other, identified as Alakesh Dube, was caught. Officers opened the boxes and found the turtles. Traffic police handed Dube and the rescued turtles to Golabari police station. He was arrested under wildlife protection laws, produced in court and remanded in police custody.