Raipur, 20 December 2024: On the night of 19 December, in the Durg-Visakhapatnam Link Express train, the state level flying squad of Chhattisgarh Forest Department arrested a person on the charge of smuggling a large number of wildlife parrots on the basis of information. On the basis of information, a joint team of State Level Flying Squad, Forest and Climate Change Department, Chhattisgarh Railway Police Force and Raipur Forest Range Officers inspected all the bogies of Durg-Visakhapatnam Link Express train. During this, 105 Hiraman parrots were found in cages and crates near Shamsuddin Ali, resident Murra Bhatti, Gudhiyari Raipur. The team caught him red handed. Crime was registered by Forest Range Officer Raipur for the accused being involved in wildlife crime. The accused was taken into custody and seizure action was taken.
It is noteworthy that Forest Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap has instructed the officials to take strict action against those found involved in wildlife crimes. This action was taken under the guidance of Principal Chief Forest Conservator and Forest Force Chief Shri V. Srinivas Rao. In the case of parrot smuggling, this action has been taken under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. It is worth noting that the parrot species has been included in the schedule of Wildlife Protection Act 1972, due to which keeping parrots and its purchase and sale is now completely prohibited.
