Specific Particular | From Ganga to international pet markets: Police in Madhya Pradesh map rail route of protected turtles | India Information
Police in Madhya Pradesh are getting ready their first coordinated crackdown on wildlife trafficking via the state’s railway community after an evaluation of six years of seizure knowledge uncovered organised interstate networks smuggling protected freshwater turtles from northern India’s river programs to markets in Southeast Asia and the Center East, The Indian Specific has learnt.
Between 2020 and 2026, the State Tiger Strike Pressure (STSF) and Authorities Railway Police recovered 654 protected animals from passenger trains crossing the state — 647 turtles and 7 vultures — throughout what enforcement data describe as 4 organised interstate networks.
Senior police officers stated the evaluation has satisfied them that the animals seized over six years symbolize solely a fraction of the wildlife being trafficked via Madhya Pradesh’s rail community. They stated repeat offenders showing throughout a number of circumstances point out established rackets could have been working alongside the identical corridors for years.
Primarily based on that evaluation, Madhya Pradesh is now getting ready its first coordinated crackdown on wildlife trafficking via the railway community, shifting past remoted interceptions in direction of a structured enforcement response.
“We’re coordinating with all sister companies just like the state wildlife activity drive and railway officers to boost the vigilance and checking of those trains and routes,” ADG (Railways) Raja Babu Singh advised The Indian Specific. “We’re taking this very significantly and are formulating a method and dealing on curbing wildlife trafficking.”
Further Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) L Krishnamurthy confirmed to The Indian Specific that turtles seized in Madhya Pradesh “are trafficked primarily as unique pets”, whereas Singh described the info on wildlife trafficking via the railways as “alarming”.
The seizures counsel traffickers overwhelmingly depend on passenger trains quite than railway cargo programs. All 654 animals recovered through the six-year interval had been discovered hid in passengers’ baggage.
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The route
The turtles start their journey removed from Madhya Pradesh.
The Indian softshell and Indian flapshell turtle — each listed underneath Schedule I of the Wildlife Safety Act, 1972, in the identical safety class as tigers and elephants — inhabit the river programs of the Gangetic basin. STSF officers stated poachers and fishermen seize them from stretches of the Ganga and its tributaries in Uttar Pradesh earlier than promoting them to collectors, who mixture consignments till they’re giant sufficient to maneuver by prepare. Madhya Pradesh is the place they subsequent seem in official data, normally after being detected throughout random checks.
Wildlife officers stated the seizures within the state mirror a a lot bigger interstate commerce.
“Freshwater turtles are the species we encounter most ceaselessly in trafficking circumstances,” a senior wildlife official stated. “The animals are sourced from river programs in northern and jap India and transported via the rail community. Madhya Pradesh is basically a transit hall in these circumstances, with consignments shifting in direction of markets in western India.”
Completely different species feed totally different markets.
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“Indian roofed turtles and star tortoises are primarily hunted for the unlawful pet commerce,” officers accustomed to the investigations stated. “We’ve seen networks linked to cities resembling Indore, Dewas and Ujjain, with additional motion in direction of Gujarat.”
Softshell and flapshell turtles observe a unique route. “There’s demand in elements of jap India, significantly Odisha and West Bengal. Investigators have additionally discovered proof of turtles shifting via Bangladesh, the place they’re valued for conventional medicinal makes use of earlier than being trafficked additional.”
The rarest species face essentially the most organised extraction.
“Species such because the Batagur turtle, which is critically endangered and survives in very restricted stretches, together with the Chambal river system, are significantly weak as they’re trafficked to unique pet markets in Southeast Asia,” a senior forest officer stated.
The seizures additionally present the dimensions of operations rising sharply.
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In March 2020, only one man was arrested at Sagar station carrying seven turtles in a fertiliser bag. In September 2023, 4 folks had been arrested at Itarsi with 282 turtles aboard the Lucknow-Yashwantpur Specific. In February 2026, eight folks had been discovered carrying 311 turtles on the Patna-Indore Specific at Sant Hirdaram Nagar station on the outskirts of Bhopal — the biggest wildlife seizure ever recorded on the state’s railway community.
“The alarming half is these animals had been detected after a foul scent emanated from them,” a senior wildlife official stated. “We’ve intelligence that these animals are largely trafficked now in small batches via the rail community and are largely undetected.”
The challenges
The 2020 Sagar case illustrates one other problem. Prices had been filed in Could 2020, however the matter stays pending earlier than a Justice of the Peace’s courtroom, with six of the eleven witnesses but to be examined. The subsequent listening to is scheduled for August 11, 2026.
Madhya Pradesh’s central location makes it a key transit hall. Enforcement data determine three principal trafficking routes via the state: Patna-Lucknow-Indore, Kanpur-Bhopal-mumbai and Lucknow-Itarsi-Bengaluru. Any consignment shifting from Uttar Pradesh in direction of Mumbai, Indore or Bengaluru should cross Madhya Pradesh.
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Eight stations are recognized as significantly weak: Sant Hirdaram Nagar, Bhopal, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Khandwa, Katni, Indore and Ujjain.
Officers stated traffickers intentionally choose passenger trains.
“The rail community permits traffickers to maneuver reside animals over lengthy distances whereas mixing in with common passengers,” a wildlife enforcement official stated. “Many seizures have concerned animals hid in private baggage or sacks inside passenger coaches, together with air-conditioned coaches.”
Of the 24 folks arrested within the circumstances analysed, 15 are categorised as sellers, seven as passengers and two as coach attendants.
The identical railway community has additionally been used to move birds.
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On January 19, 2022, officers intercepted seven reside Egyptian vultures at Khandwa station aboard the Sultanpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Specific. 5 folks had been arrested. Egyptian vultures are categorised as endangered and guarded underneath Schedule I of the Wildlife Safety Act.
Officers stated the vulture commerce operates via totally different networks. “We don’t encounter vultures in the identical volumes. It’s a area of interest, high-value commerce,” a senior forest officer stated. “Investigations counsel some birds are trafficked in direction of Maharashtra and Hyderabadwhile others could also be destined for worldwide markets. The networks are smaller however extra specialised.”
Enforcement data present baggage scanners are put in at 10 stations alongside the community, together with a number of on routes the place wildlife has repeatedly been seized.
Officers, nonetheless, stated infrastructure alone is inadequate.
“Routine deployment of sniffer canine squads, wider use of bags scanners, stronger CCTV monitoring and facial recognition instruments might considerably enhance detection,” an enforcement official stated, including that intelligence-led policing – figuring out repeat offenders via higher knowledge sharing between companies — can be simpler than random checks.
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Stations on identified trafficking corridors, significantly across the Chambal area, Unnao, Etawah and Kanpur, require enhanced surveillance, the official stated. The six-year evaluation has, for the primary time, enabled enforcement companies to determine recurring routes, weak stations, and repeat offenders — the idea for the coordinated crackdown now being deliberate.
