By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Forest officials seized six fresh water turtles from the premises of a private hospital in Odisha and arrested one person for illegally confining the amphibians, an official said here Wednesday.
The turtles were found in a pool created at the entrance of the Hi-Tech Medical College and Hospital on the outskirts of state capital Bhubaneswar, forest range officer Ashok Mishra told IANS.
“We found four Indian soft-shelled turtles and two Indian tent turtles in the pool,” he added.
Jyotiranjan Panda, a hospital administrator has been arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act, he said. The turtles were kept in the pool as decorative items.
Turtles are listed as endangered and protected under the Act and their capture or killing is an offence under the law.
The turtles were in good health and would be released to their natural habitat Thursday, said Mishra.