City police have nabbed two men who attempted to sell a crocodile hatchling in South Bengaluru’s Chennammanakere (CK) Achukattu limits.
Jurisdictional police said the accused Abdul Khalid and B S Gangadhar, both aged 32, tried passing off the hatchling as a pet.
A senior officer with the CK Achukattu police told DH that the duo was nabbed near Eshwari theatre building in Banashankari.
“Following a tip-off from an informant, police arrested the two men and found the hatchling kept in a white water can,” the police officer said.
The duo, hailing from Bengaluru and Ramanagar, have been booked under the Wildlife Conservation Act.
During the initial round of interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed that they sourced the hatchling from Kaveri River near Shivanasamudra. Police said the nearly three-month-old hatchling will be rehabilitated at the Bannerghatta Biological Park.
Marsh crocodiles, also called muggers that live in freshwater habitats like rivers and large lakes, are protected under schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Act.
Experts said eggs of the crocodiles are hatched between May and July. The adults protect the hatchlings for close to 10 months. Marsh crocodiles can be seen in Karnataka in the waters of Cauvery, Kabini, Krishna and Tungabhadra.
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