27-05-2025
Two rare star tortoises seized from Grant Rd home; 1 booked
Mumbai: Forest officials, accompanied by activists from PAWS-Mumbai, Amma Care Foundation, and OIPA, recently raided a Grant Road flat and seized two Indian star tortoises from Vinay Vaghela (57).
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As Indian star tortoise is a protected species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and it is a crime to either poach or keep them as pets, Vaghela was booked under the relevant sections of the Act. He was produced before a local court, which sent him to three days of forest department custody.
The raid was conducted by range forest officer (Wildlife) Mumbai Shilpa Shigwan, honorary wildlife warden Sunish Subramanian Kunju, round officer Sanjay Giri, forest guard Rakesh Patil, and staff under the guidance of deputy conservator of forests (Wildlife) Thane Akshay Gajbhiye and assistant conservator of forests (Wildlife) Manohar Divekar.
Following the raid at the Grant Road residence, two more star tortoises were seized after questioning a pet shop owner, said Kunju. — Vijay Singh
