Bhubaneswar, Sept. 4: Officials of Chandaka forest division today rescued three turtles from a water tank near a vending zone at Nalco Square here after receiving information about illegal possession of the reptiles.

Their suspicion was directed at a fast food shop owner in the vending zone.

Sources said the rescued reptiles include two Indian flapshell turtles (Lissemys punctata) and one Indian roofed turtle (Kachuga tecta) categorised as Scheduled One-Part Two species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. One of the three turtles was mature, weighing around 2.5 kilograms, and the two younger ones weighed nearly 500 grams each.

The officials have started an investigation and will take action against the guilty as per the provisions of the Act, said divisional forest officer Shiba Prasad Mohapatra.

“During interrogation, the fast food shop owner denied owning the tank. Now we are trying to verify if the tank belongs to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) or the other shop owners. We will speak to the BMC authorities to get to the bottom of the matter,” said Mahapatra.

The turtles were later released in the Kuasaura water body inside the Bharatpur reserve forest.

Animal activists in the city alleged that though such cases were rampant, the forest officials have not been very active in tracking down the criminals responsible. “Conducting a few raids will not prevent people from keeping wild animals. Forest officials must also conduct raids on the homes of persons keeping rare parrots and other scheduled animals,” said animal activist Sanjeev Kumar Das, adding the forest division must trace whether the reptiles were kept for smuggling or for sale in the local market.

Sources in the state forest department said the number of various species of turtles were dwindling in the state as these were being caught alive and smuggled out of the state.

“These turtles are in great demand as they are used to make rare medicines for treatment of infertility,” said an official.

On June 5, Kendrapara forest officials had seized 40 fresh water turtles while these animals were being smuggled to outside the state.

According to a forest department official, smuggling of turtles, which falls under Class I species of water animal, is a non-bailable offence under the Wildlife Protection Act. “For the past couple of years, many turtle smugglers operating in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have been able to catch most of these reptiles from rivers and ponds of the states,” said the official.