Poacher arrested, 23 kg dolphin oil seized

PATNA - A team of forest officials and police recovered 23 kg of dolphin oil and arrested a poacher in separate raids in Patna district, officials said Thursday.

The team raided two houses in Islamganj village and seized 20 kg dolphin oil.

“Dolphin oil was kept in three containers but no arrest was made in this connection as nobody was present at the time of raid,” Patna District Forest Officer Surendra Singh said.

In a separate raid, the team arrested Munna Sahni from Takiapar village for his alleged involvement in poaching incidents and sale of dolphin oil.

“We also recovered three kg of dolphin oil from his possession,” Singh said.

The drive comes a week after four Ganges river dolphins were killed by suspected poachers. An autopsy revealed that the dolphins were trapped and beaten to death as they bore several marks on their necks and heads.

The Bihar government has decided to launch an awareness campaign to protect the endangered species - declared national aquatic animal early this year.

There are only about 2,000 Ganges river dolphins left, down from tens of thousands just a few decades ago.