Desk Report,
27 tortoises rescued in Khulna, youth sentenced to prison
A mobile court has sentenced a young man to 21 days in prison for selling 27 Sundi tortoises in Dumuria, Khulna. The young man was arrested during a raid in the Ghonabanda Madhyapara area of Bhandarpara union of the upazila on Sunday afternoon. The tortoises were recovered from his house.
27 tortoises rescued in Khulna, youth sentenced to prison
Nirmal Kumar Pal, Divisional Forest Officer of the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Department, Khulna, confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo and said that they will be released in suitable habitats after being kept for a day or two.
The name of the young man who was sentenced is Joy Dhali (22). The tortoises were recovered in a joint operation of the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Department of the Dumuria Upazila Administration and the Forest Department, Khulna, based on a secret tip-off. These tortoises are protected under Schedule-2 of the Wild Animals (Conservation and Security) Act of 2012 of Bangladesh. Killing, hunting, keeping in cages, transporting, selling, etc. of such animals are prohibited by law.
According to the forest department and local sources, Joy Dhali and his father Nitai Dhali have been involved in the tortoise business for a long time. It is alleged that both of them regularly hunted and sold tortoises.
Divisional Forest Officer Nirmal Kumar Pal said that another name for the Sundi tortoise is the Chiti tortoise. The Sundi tortoise is not found in salt water. It is a reptile of the Trionycidae family of the Testudine order. Its English name is ‘Indian flapshelled turtle’, scientific name is ‘Lissemys punctata’. Earlier, the Sundi tortoise was found in all the water bodies of the country, but now it is not seen much. During the dry season, it could be seen only when canals, haors and baors were irrigated for fishing. Currently, the animal is endangered due to habitat destruction, illegal hunting and water body pollution.
