A group of fishermen in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district, about 250 kilometres from here, consumed a Gangetic Dolphin, an endangered species, after accidentally catching it from the Yamuna river in the district.
One of the fishermen, identified as Ranjeet Kumar, was later arrested and a hunt was on to nab the other offenders, according to the police sources here on Tuesday. There were four others, who too had consumed the National Aquatic Animal.
The matter came to light after one of the fishermen recorded a video showing the dolphin being carried by another person on his shoulder while some others followed him and uploaded it on the social media platforms.
The video soon went viral and the local officials of the forest department took cognisance of the same and a team soon reached Nasirpur, the native village of the fishermen on the bank of the Yamuna.
The fishermen said that the dolphin was trapped in their fishing net accidentally while they were trying to catch fishes in the river on July 22. ''We didn't know it was an offence to consume the dolphins,'' said one of them.
A team of forest officials was trying to ascertain if the Gangetic Dolphins had earlier also been caught and eaten in the region. They were also trying to find out how the Gangetic Dolphin, which was usually found in the Ganga, reached the Yamuna river.
The officials said that the fishermen were booked under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.