An alert constable from Central Railway (CR) detained a 59-year-old woman carrying three star tortoises in a basket at Dadar terminus on Saturday and handed the reptiles to the Thane forest department.
According to RPF officers, constable CG Memane, who was posted at the baggage scanner, saw Agatha Kini, a resident of Worli, around 11.50 pm after the Punjab Mail arrived on platform number six. "He got suspicious after noticing Kini. Soon, he checked her bags and found three live star tortoises. Memane immediately informed his superiors, who came and started questioning Kini. Though she knew the reptiles she was carrying were star tortoises, she failed to give proper answers to where did she get them from," said a senior RPF officer.
As per protocol, RPF seized the tortoises in the presence of two witnesses and alerted the Thane forest division. "The case was handed over to the forest department," said the officer.
Meanwhile, activists across India have been asking for stricter checks of baggages as trains are increasingly becoming the preferred mode of transporting protected animals illegally. Star tortoises are a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and are very popular in the illegal pet market. People consider them lucky as they are believed to be harbingers of good fortune.
