More than 200 Indian softshell turtles were rescued from a van near Taranipur ghat on the banks of the Ichhamati in North 24-Parganas district on Tuesday.
Three men, including the driver of the van, have been arrested as possessing and trading in Indian softshell turtles is banned.
Forest department officials from the North 24-Parganas division intercepted the Maruti Omni van near the ghat on the basis of specific information they had received a few days back.
According to a forester, the team found 225 turtles crammed inside plastic crates that are usually used to transport fish and milk. The turtles were of different sizes.
“The crates were stacked on top of each other,” said the official.
“We are trying to track down other members of the group,” the official added.
Indian softshell turtles are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.
“Possessing, trading in or killing members of any species under Schedule I of the act is punishable by a jail term varying between three and seven years,” said a senior official of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, an agency under the union ministry of environment and forests.
According to another forester, they got to know from the arrested trio that the turtles were meant to be transported to fish and meat markets in the district.
“Turtles are killed in the most gruesome way possible. First, their shells are peeled off and then portions of meat are chopped off even as the turtle is alive,” said the forester.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Indian softshell turtle as “vulnerable” on its Red List of threatened species. The IUCN website says the turtle is “considered endangered in Bangladesh and vulnerable in India, its main range state”.
