HUNDREDS OF TORTOISE DIE IN MAYURAKSHI RIVER SOON AFTER RELEASE

Webdesk, TNI Ranchi, 15th January, 2016: A huge haul of smuggled tortoises were found dead in Mayurakshi river today just after the release by the Forest Department. Internal sources say that the death toll would be in hundreds. According to the forest department, Dumka Police on 11th January had seized a truck with around 3500 smuggled tortoises heading towards West Bengal from UP. Soon after the recovery, the tortoise was found in an inhospitable condition and thus they were immediately released at Mayurakshi River, however, the tortoises could not bear the earlier stress and had died. A departmental investigation had already started to access the cause of the death of such a large quantity of tortoises.