Indore: The joint team of city crime branch police and forest department on Friday arrested a local resident who was involved in selling tortoises illegally in the city. Two tortoises of rare species were recovered from his residence few days back.
Accused Neeraj Sharma, 32, was on the run since then and was trying to get anticipatory bail from the court. He was arrested under Sections 9, 48, 49, 51 and 57 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. According to ASP (crime) Amarendra Singh, information was received that a person named Neeraj Sharma is on the run in connection with trafficking of tortoises.
Forest department officials had booked him under relevant sections and he was being searched. A cash reward was also announced on his arrest by the forest department. Crime branch team later started investigation and managed to trace the accused. Finally, the crime branch and forest department team arrested Neeraj Sharma, a resident of Rambagh.
During questioning, Neeraj told police that he is a property dealer. He had brought the tortoises from Goa a month ago with an intention to sell them in the city. The investigation into the case is underway and other people associated with the accused are also being searched.