UP fisherman held for killing dolphin & feasting on it

The Kaushambhi police have arrested one person after a video of a dolphin being caught and carried away by a group of fishermen went viral on social media.

The police have arrested a fisherman for catching and killing a Gangetic dolphin that strayed into the Yamuna on the banks of Nasirpur village under Pipri police station of Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambhi district.

A video of the dolphin, weighing around one quintal, being carried away by a group of fishermen went viral on social media. Taking cognizance of the video, the forest officials carried out investigations and arrested the fisherman identified as Ranjit.

Forest ranger of Chail forest range, Ravindra Kumar, in his complaint to the police said in the morning on July 22, fishermen Ranjit, Sanjay, Deewan, Babaji and Gendalal were fishing in the Yamuna when a Gangetic dolphin got trapped in their net. The accused caught the dolphin and later feasted on it.

The video and photographs of the dolphin, which is estimated to be weighing around one quintal, went viral on social media.

On Monday, forest officials and police carried out a raid and arrested one of the accused identified as Ranjit while others fled the spot.

SHO at Pipri police station Shravan Singh said an FIR has been registered on the complaint of forest ranger under Wildlife Protection Act and other relevant sections of the IPC. Efforts were on to nab other accused, he added.

The Gangetic dolphin is considered an endangered species and the government is making efforts for its conservation.

Hunting of Gangetic dolphin is completely banned and action is taken for its killing under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

In a similar incident, a group of persons killed a dolphin when it strayed into Sai River in Pratapgarh last year.

(IANS/SR)