Bid to sell tortoises, 2 held

Three tortoises seized by the Forest department of Madikeri. DH Photo

The arrested are B P Bhaskar and Udaya of Basavanapattana of Arakalagoodu taluk of Hassan. Another accused B D Harish had fled the scene. Police have seized property worth Rs 5 lakh including the vehicle.

Acting on a tip off,  Inspector R Krishnamurthy raided the spot along with officials K P Harishchandra, M N Chandru, M S Medappa, N T Thimmaiah, B G Gunashekar and T R Raju.
The accused had said that they got tortoises while removing the silt from a canal near Konanoor. One Manju of Madikeri had called and assured to purchase it for Rs 10,000 each and had asked the duo to come to Sampige Katte. The three fingered tortoise is used for medicinal purpose. “However, we do no know who was Manju,” they had repotedly told the police.