Delhi woman arrested for stealing 38 turtles in Jaipur

JAIPUR: A 30-year-old Delhi-based woman was arrested by Government Railway Police (GRP) at Jaipur junction for stealing 38 turtles from different lakes of Jodhpur to sell and allegedly feed them to his brother battling tuberculosis.
The accused has been identified as Sangeeta, a resident of JJ colony in New Delhi. “There was a regular checking and search at Jaipur railway station. She was trying to evade cops which aroused suspicion. We searched her bags and found 38 turtles,” said GRP Jaipur SHO Sampat Raj.

A forest official was called to the GRP station that identified turtles belonged to Indian softshell turtle species. “She claimed to have stolen turtles from Kaylana Lake in Jodhpur,” the official said, adding that she may have picked turtles from other water bodies too.

In the initial enquiry, the police have found that she was smuggling turtles to New Delhi to sell them off. “She has claimed that her brother has been suffering from a disease and she used turtles to feed them to his brother for treatment. But we have to ascertain that claim, as of now it is clear that she was smuggling turtles to sell them,” Sampat Raj said, adding an investigation is underway to find if she had in the past also indulged in similar cases.

A case has been registered her under relevant sections of the wild life protection act. “The turtles of this particular species are often smuggled for multiple purposes ranging from decorative to astrological myths. We are tracking the traders whom she was to supply these turtles,” an official of GRP said, adding that the accused claimed she had travelled to Rajasthan only a few days ago.