FIR against 12 for killing dolphin; 1 held

FRESH WATER DOLPHINS ARE CATEGORISED AS ENDANGERED SPECIES

LUCKNOW : An FIR has been lodged against 12 people in Hargaon area of Sitapur on Monday for catching and killing a rare freshwater dolphin from Sharda auxiliary canal on Sunday, police said.

Fresh water dolphins are categorised as endangered species in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red book.

The FIR was lodged after a video of the incident started doing the rounds on social media, said superintendent of police of Sitapur Rakesh Prakash Singh adding that one Prithivi Sahu has been arrested and two teams have been formed to arrest the other accused.

He said a group of villagers in Hargaon area caught the dolphin from the auxiliary canal, which passes through the district and is used for fishing by the locals, in the fishing net and killed it. “The villagers apparently divided the meat among themselves. However, one of the locals recorded the act which was later circulated widely on social media platforms and caught the attention of forest officials,” said the SP.

Based on the video evidence, local forest officials lodged the FIR at Hargaon Police station against the 12 people under Wild Life Act.