The Hindu : New Delhi News : Rare birds seized, two held

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 05, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Rare birds seized, two held

By Our Staff Reporter

Hari Babu (left) and Ramesh (right) who were arrested by the police for selling Himalayan horn owls in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

NEW DELHI, DEC. 4. Two persons have been arrested by the Crime Branch of the Delhi police for allegedly selling endangered species of owls. Three great Himalayan horned owls have been recovered from their possession.

According to the police, the Special team of the Crime Branch received a tip-off about a person trying to sell off a bird of rare species in the bylanes of Shakarpur in East Delhi. A decoy was sent to strike a deal with the man, identified as Hari Babu, a native of Badaun district in Uttar Pradesh and living here in Shakarpur, who was looking for a prospective buyer to sell the rare bird.

Hari agreed to sell the bird to the decoy at a price of Rs. 25,000 in Ganesh Nagar, Shakarpur, around 5-45 p.m. on Friday. As the deal was completed, the waiting police team nabbed Hari. Two horned owls were recovered from him.

At Hari's instance, the police also arrested his associate, Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Dabri in South-West Delhi, from his residence. One horned owl was also recovered from his possession.

During interrogation, Hari told the police that he and Ramesh, also a native of Badaun, used to catch the birds from the forests near Badaun. They had caught the birds, which were recovered from them, only a couple of days ago and had come to the Capital to dispose them of.

They also told the police that they expected to fetch anywhere between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 for one bird.

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