The Dhanbad Police announced that they rescued 29 turtles from 2 smugglers, who have been arrested, in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
The seize was made during a routine checking of vehicles on the NH-2 in Barbadda area of Dhanbad, Jharkhand on the evening of November 19, 2019.
During the checkpoint, authorities found 29 turtles hidden in a car and arrested 2 wildlife smugglers.
Police Officer Sandeep Bhagwar said the turtles were handed over to the forest department officials on the same evening.
Unfortunately, 14 turtles died after being rescued.
Divisional Forest Officer Vimal Lakra announced that 14 out of the 29 turtles died when they were handed over to them.
The 15 turtles that survived have been released in the Maithon Dam of Damodar Valley Corporation.
Another shocking revelation about the incident is that the smugglers managed to escape the custody of the police.
According to the Dhanbad Police, the 2 wildlife smuggles escaped from the custody of the Forest Department on the same evening.
The District Forest Officer of Dhanbad has suspended a ranger in the incident.
The DFO of Dhanbad confirmed the incident and said a suspension order has been issued against the ranger.
The ranger was suspended for dereliction of duty and has ordered a probe on how such an incident managed to happen.