Railway police seize 97 Indian flapshell turtles being trafficked to West Bengal
Ballia (UP) (PTI): The Government Railway Police (GRP) has seized 97 rare Indian flapshell turtles, locally known as 'Sundari turtles', here while they were being smuggled from Azamgarh to West Bengal, officials said on Monday.
The seizure was made on Sunday at a platform of the Ballia railway station, the GRP officials said, adding that three people -- two from West Bengal and one from UP -- were arrested in this connection.
GRP Inspector VK Singh said the Sundari turles were kept in a sack by some people, who tried to flee the spot after as the police approached them.
Those arrested included Baki Mandal and Mahendra Pratap Shah from West Bengal and Hemant from Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkarnagar district.
During interrogation, the trio told police that they were taking the consignment from Azamgarh to West Bengal.
The species is protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.
Indian flapshell turtles, assessed for the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species in 2018, are listed as "vulnerable".
According to police, they are trafficked for their meat in West Bengal and other states with a belief that its consumption increases sexual prowess.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bumrah keeps battle alive; Australia score 311/6 after impressive Konstas debut
Melbourne, Dec 26: Jasprit Bumrah's knack of coming up with magic deliveries in crunch situations kept India alive after Australia's top-order, headlined by teen debutant Sam Konstas' stroke-filled half-century, guided the hosts to 311 for 6 on the opening day of the fourth Test here on Thursday.
If Konstas' audacious 60 off 65 balls enthralled the near sell-out crowd of over 80,000 at the MCG during a humid morning session, Bumrah's (3/75 in 21 overs) deception of length to dismiss Travis Head (0) also had its takers as chants of 'Boom, Boom, Booooomraaaaaaah' reverberated through the stands.
Coming into the Test with back-to-back hundreds, Head couldn't judge the length of a Bumrah delivery that was pitched slightly fuller than what the batter expected. He shouldered his arms trusting the bounce but the 66.2 overs old Kookaburra nipped back to clip the off-bail.
In the next over, he removed an out-of-form Mitchell Marsh (4), having got Usman Khawaja (57 off 121 balls) with the half-tracker in the post-lunch session.
The first two sessions, however, belonged to Australia with senior players Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne (72 off 145 balls) and Steve Smith (68 batting, 111 balls) scoring half-centuries.
The final session was all about Bumrah magic. The Indian spearhead didn't let the hosts completely walk away with the game which they threatened to do at one stage.
He now has 24 wickets in the series. With Mohammed Siraj (0/69 in 15 overs) off-colour, Bumrah didn't have much support save off-spinner Washington Sundar (1/37 in 12 overs), who bowled a containing line.
Akash Deep (1/59 in 19 overs) though got Alex Carey with the second new ball at the fag end of the day.
Even Ravindra Jadeja (1/54 in 14 overs) leaked runs despite getting Konstas out and Nitish Reddy, the batting all-rounder, was only used before the second new ball was taken.
