Rajnandgaon: The district Court has released three tortoises who were forced to live in a small water tank from last four years here as the case of their smuggling was pending before the court.
After the court orders, the wildlife department and police have released the tortoises in Shivnath river.
"In 2015, the police had arrested six persons for using tortoises for the black magic. While the accused were granted bail, the tortoises were kept in a plastic tank for four years," said Rajesh Sahu, Basantpur station in-charge.
The police on 2015 had caught six men for smuggling these turtles under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972, from Mahamaya chowk. The police arrested the men while they were performing black magic with the use of turtles.
Later, these turtles were handed over to the Forest department who were taking care of the species from the past few years.
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