Pratapgarh (UP): A rare Gangetic dolphin was beaten to death in a canal Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh by three men who used sticks and axes to kill it. After the video went viral on social media, three men were arrested by police.
Police said the incident took place on December 31, 2020 at the Sharda Sahayak canal in Pratapgarh.
The dolphin, that is a protected species and strayed into the canal, was reportedly beaten to death by the locals who mistook it for a ‘deadly fish’.
The local police and forest officials had reached the spot and had sent the dolphin’s body for post-mortem.
However, the matter was kept under wraps until the video clip went viral on January 8 when someone posted the clip of the dolphin being beaten to death by the locals.
The forest officials evaded comments on the issue and said that it was yet to be verified if it was actually a dolphin.
The local police said the forest officials would be better placed to respond to the queries.
Meanwhile, a local source said the water gate of the canal had been closed and the water level had receded.
“In the morning of the New Year, local people saw the dolphin moving in the water. Some said it was a ‘deadly and poisonous fish’ while others said it could kill people who went near it. A huge crowd collected at the spot and people decided that it would be dangerous to let it go. The crowds started beating the dolphin and some even hit with an axe,” the source said.
(With inputs from IANS)