12 rare Mountain quails rescued from bus, 3 arrested

Bhawanipatna: In what could possibly bust a major poaching and wildlife racket, the forest department officials have rescued 12 Mountain Quails which are a rare species from a bus in Odisha’s Kalahandi district on Monday.

Three persons—Chintamani Chatria, the bus owner, driver Punia Majhi and helper Pradip Majhi have also been arrested in connection with the incident.

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According to reports, the trio was engaged in illegal poaching of rare birds. All the birds were rescued from a private bus that was going towards Thuamul Rampur from Bhawanipatana.

A team of forest officials acting on a tip-off intercepted the bus near Sagada check post, rescued the birds and seized a number of bird catching instruments.