Two held for killing 2 dolphins in Brahmaputra

Two people were detained and fined Tk 5,000 each by a mobile court for capturing two Ganges river dolphins in the Brahmaputra river in Chilmari upazila of Kurigram.

The mobile court led by Mahbubur Rahman, executive magistrate and Chilmari upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), passed the order under Section 37 (2) of the Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation and Security Act-2012 in the yesterday morning.

The UNO said that the two endangered mammalians were found dead and they were buried as per the order of the mobile court.

The detainees are Suzan Chandra Das, 35, a fisherman, and Amber Ali, 40, a battery-run easy bike driver of Ulipur upazila.

Ahsan Habib, sub-inspector (SI) of Chilmari Model Police Station, said that the two dolphins were entangled in a fishing net in the river and died.

Later on, Wednesday afternoon, Suzan bought the two dolphins for Tk 10,000 from a fisherman.

But locals detained him and Amber Ali in Matikata area while they were taking the dolphins to Ulipur upazila.

Locals handed them over to the police along with the two dead dolphins. Police later informed the UNO and the Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Authority, SI Ahsan Habib said.

Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Officer in Rangpur Smriti Singh Roy said she visited the spot after receiving the news.