Seven held in raid on illegal bird trade, hundreds of protected species rescued

Lucknow: A joint team of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and Special Task Force raided Lucknow’s Nakkhas market on Sunday and arrested seven people for allegedly trading in protected bird species.The surprise operation led to the recovery of hundreds of birds, including protected native species and exotic birds, officials said. Authorities stated that the seized birds fall under categories protected by the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, under which hunting, possession and trade are punishable offences.Officials said one of the accused, Kailash, son of Barati Lal and a resident of Ghantabeg Garhiya under Saadatganj police station limits, was found with 50 red munias, 15 hill parrots, two native parrots and two sunbirds.The other arrested accused were identified as Shyamdhan, son of late Ram Avtar; Uday Kumar, son of Rajpati; Dharamraj, son of Radheshyam; Amrit Kumar, son of Rajpati; Dharmendra Kumar, son of Deepchandra; and Hasan Ikroz, son of late Nafees-ul-Hasan. Most of them are residents of Ghantabeg Garhiya and nearby localities in Lucknow.During the raid, the team also recovered about 300 red munias, 22 cockatiels, 65 finches and 135 budgerigars from the accused.The forest department said the case attracts provisions of Sections 9, 39, 48A, 49, 50 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, as amended. The rescued birds were taken into safe custody by Urban Range officials of the Awadh Forest Division.An FIR has been registered at Chowk police station and further legal action is underway. All seven accused were handed over to police custody.The raid was carried out by officials of the Urban Range of Awadh Forest Division, WCCB personnel and police teams from Chowk and other stations as part of an intensified crackdown on illegal wildlife trade in urban markets.