Two white Himalayan porcupines have been rescued from the clutches of wildlife traffickers at the Burdwan railway station in West Bengal, forest department officials said on Monday.
The three persons who were ferrying these rare species were nabbed by the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel from a compartment of Kanchanjunga Express late on Sunday night.
The arrested persons have been identified as Ganesh Shaw, Pintu Kumar and Tarun Kumar Ghosh. Tarun Ghosh is a contractual employee with the railways who's from Kolkata, Shaw is a resident of Giridih in Jharkhand, while Kumar is a resident of Delhi.
The GRP officials have handed over the porcupines to the local forest range office.
Forest officer Kajal Biswas told mediapersons on Monday that veterinary officials of the state of forest department are currently examining the health condition of the two rescued animals.
"They seem to be in good health. After check-up, our officials will decide about their next destination," Biswas said.
Initial interrogation has revealed that the porcupines were being taken to Sealdah in Kolkata, where they were supposed to handed over to another person.
The arrested persons have confided that they got the consignment from Dharmanagar in Tripura and boarded the Kanchanjunga Express with the intention of bringing them to Kolkata.
Despite our positive contributions, we don't feel safe in Canada: Hindus to Trudeau
Urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep Canada free from "the glorification of terrorism", a prominent Hindu advocacy group in the country said on Friday that Ottawa's current political discourse regarding India's alleged interference in the country further emboldens extremist elements.
India, world’s No 1 country in digital payments: Anurag Thakur’s reply to taunts by past govts
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Anurag Thakur on Friday explained in great detail about India’s giant strides on economic, infrastructure and technological fronts while making an elaborate presentation on the swift changes during ten years of Modi government.
Viksit Bharat Ambassador meet-up: ‘Reform, perform and transform’ mantra changed the country in 10 years, says Anurag Thakur
Addressing the Viksit Bharat Ambassador meet-up program in Lucknow, the I&B Minister said that the three mantras of the Modi government – ‘Reform, perform and Transform’ did a great deal in bringing this transformation, with a focus on extending benefits to even the last man standing.
Fresh tension grips Sandeshkhali over attack on AISF supporters
Tension gripped the Bermajur locality at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal on Friday following an attack on the All India Secular Front (AISF) workers who tried to hoist the party flag there.
Talks with Ukrainian FM focused on conflict with Russia, says EAM Jaishankar
In an open and wide-ranging conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar discussed the Kyiv's ongoing conflict with Russia and exchanged views on various initiatives.
Sales turnover of Government e-Marketplace doubles to Rs 4 lakh crore in 2023-24
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has closed the 2023-24 financial year with a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of a staggering Rs 4 lakh crore which is double that of the corresponding figure for the previous fiscal year (2022-23), the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Friday.
From superfood millet to finding inner peace: PM Modi's key lifestyle mantras for Bill Gates
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a candid conversation with Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates, not only discussed AI, climate change, healthcare and digital inclusion but also gave him some useful tips about how to remain healthy while finding inner peace in hectic times.
Magisterial probe ordered into Mukhtar Ansari’s death
Mukhtar Ansari was brought to the Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda from the district jail in "an unconscious state" on Thursday. A team of nine doctors attended him but he died of cardiac arrest.