Kangaroo smuggling bid foiled, 2 arrested

kolkata: The state Forest department with the help of the district police foiled an attempt of smuggling of a kangaroo at the Barobisha border in Alipurduar on Sunday morning.

Two persons, the driver and the helper of the truck, in which the animal was transported have been arrested. As per preliminary inquiry by the police, the kangaroo that was brought from Assam was heading to Hyderabad. The kangaroo was recovered during naka checking within Barobisha police station area under Kumargram block . The police had stopped the truck and found the animal in a cage covered by a tarpaulin. The kangaroo which seemed to be young was also found in a sickly condition."The Alipurduar court has asked the police for handover of the animal to us for safe custody and transportation to Alipore Zoo " Buddharaj Shewa, Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve said.

The recovery of rhino horn, elephant tusk, leopard skin etc are nothing unusual from North Bengal.

But this is perhaps the first time when a kangaroo has been recovered in North Bengal.The two arrested persons Imran Sheikh and Zayed Sheikh are residents of Hyderabad. The police prayer for custody of the two animals was allowed by the court. The involvement of an international racket is not being ruled out.

"If the court allows us, we may interrogate the two arrested persons while they are in police custody," Shewa said.