Man held with peacock carcasses in Uttar Pradesh
By IANSSunday, January 16, 2011
LUCKNOW - A man was arrested with carcasses of peacocks - India’s national bird - while three of his accomplices managed to escape in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad district, police said Sunday.
Ram Avtar was nabbed Saturday night from Chauri Bazar area following a joint operation by forest officials and the district police.
“Two peacock carcasses were seized from Avtar, whose three aides managed to give us the slip,” inspector J.S. Prasad told reporters Sunday in Faizabad, some 150 km from here.
“We are yet to establish where the peacocks were killed. Preliminary investigations indicate that Avtar was involved in the wildlife trade for nearly last five years,” he added.
According to police, the poacher used to supply peacock meat to his clients in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Bihar.
The peacock is protected under Section 51 (1-A) of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972, and its killing is strictly prohibited. Avtar, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was booked under multiple sections of the WPA.
