Ambala: A viral Instagram reel helped expose an alleged wildlife crime in Haryana’s Karnal after Punjab-based environmentalist and wildlife rescuer Sahil Sharma acted on a tip posted in the comments section of one of his videos.Sharma, who was in Delhi, immediately travelled to Karnal to verify the information and take up the matter with the authorities. His intervention led to the detection of eight protected turtles allegedly being kept by fish aquarium shop owners Rajan and Pratul Das.Both Rajan and Pratul Das were arrested by Karnal police and sent to jail as per the court’s order on Friday.According to the information available, the turtles belonged to two protected species — Indian Black Spotted Pond Turtles and Indian Tent Turtles — and were allegedly found at the accused’s aquarium shops in Karnal.On Thursday, on the complaint of wildlife inspector Jagbir Singh, an FIR was registered against Rajan and Pratul under Sections 9, 39, 40, 40 (B), 51 and 57 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, at Karnal Civil Lines police station, in connection with the offences established during the investigation.Sharma said the information came through a comment on his viral video and that he decided to act on it immediately rather than ignore the tip.“The information came through a comment under my viral video. I did not ignore it. I immediately left Delhi for Karnal because every genuine wildlife-crime tip deserves to be pursued. For me, the priority is always the wildlife,” he said.The case highlights the role social media and vigilant citizens can play in detecting wildlife crimes. It also underlines that protected species cannot legally be treated as commodities for commercial possession or trade and that timely reporting of suspected violations can assist authorities in protecting wildlife.Karnal Civil Line police station’s investigation officer sub-inspector (SI) Rajesh Kumar said, “Both the accused from whom the protected turtles were recovered were arrested on Thursday. They were produced before the court on Friday and sent to jail under 14-day judicial custody. They committed non-bailable offence.”Karnal wildlife inspector Rajbir Singh said, “Eight protected turtles have been released into their natural habitat. The accused were sent to jail as per law.”Ends
