An adviser to animal rights activist and Union minister Maneka Gandhi has demanded that the government raid Mir Shikar Toli, the hub of illegal bird trade in Patna City.

Gauri Maulekhi, the adviser to Maneka, has also lodged a complaint with chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh.

Sources said thousands of exotic birds are smuggled into Nepal and Pakistan, apart from other Indian cities and Sonepur Mela’s Chiriya Bazaar, from Mir Shikar Toli that literally means an area (tola) of professional bird catchers (Mir Shikar). It came under the scanner after an attack on Gauri and her team in Sonepur this Sunday.

Gauri, who is in her 30s, told The Telegraph: “I had gone to the Sonepur Mela with my teammates from the Animal Welfare Board of India on Sunday. We had a police team with us too. We were taking photographs and video footages at the Chiriya Bazaar when the bird sellers launched a murderous attack on us. We managed to run away but the men damaged our cameras and took away the memory cards. We lodged an FIR with the Sonepur police station but there have been no arrests yet.”

Gauri, who is also a trustee of People for Animals, India, of which Maneka is the chairperson, has urged the government to ban the bird market at Mir Shikar Toli. “We know that at least five truckloads of birds and other endangered animals were shifted from Sonepur Mela to Mir Shikar Toli following Sunday’s incident. We would meet the chief secretary and director-general of police on Tuesday to brief them on the issue and seek action,” Gauri said.

Gauri had also informed Maneka, Union cabinet minister for women and child development known for her animal rights work, after the attack, who in turn called the Saran district magistrate.

Kundan Kumar, the Saran district magistrate, said: “I got a call from Union minister Maneka Gandhi on Sunday regarding the attack on her adviser Gauri. We immediately took all necessary action. I would write to the Patna district administration for necessary action against the illegal bird trade at Mir Shikar Toli in Patna City.”