PARADIP: Paradip Lock police on Sunday arrested three West Bengal natives for allegedly transporting goats illegally from Paradip to Kolkata in a bus. Police rescued 37 goats from the luggage compartment of the bus.
The accused are Ratan Pattnayak (51), Sujit Maiti (52) and the driver Radha Kanta (43), all of West Bengal’s East Medinipur district. The bus, which had a West Bengal registration number, was seized by the police.
Acting on a tip-off, a special team led by sub-inspector Srikant Kumar Sahoo intercepted the bus near Chuna chowk on Sunday morning and found the goats crammed inside the luggage compartment. The animals and the bus were seized and a case was registered under multiple sections of the BNS and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Police suspect traders procured stolen goats at low prices through local miscreants and transported them to Kolkata, where they were sold at higher rates.
Paradip Lock IIC Rashmi Ranjan Dash said preliminary investigation suggests the involvement of an organised illegal goat transportation network. The supplier and the alleged mastermind behind the racket are yet to be identified. Further investigation is on to trace and arrest the remaining persons involved, the IIC added.