New Delhi:
In a rare case, 13 parrots were produced before Delhi court on Wednesday. In fact, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Manish Khurana asked them, ‘Where were you being taken?’ The parrots were allegedly being smuggled by a Tashkent-bound Uzbek national, who was arrested at Delhi airport. Alert customs official rescued the parrots and foiled the smuggling attempt. Anvarjon Rakhmat Jonov, who was scheduled to board a flight to the Uzbek capital on Tuesday, was intercepted after security personnel detected some suspicious items in his bag during the x-ray scanning at the Terminal-3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport, the official said in a statement.
A total of 13 parrots were recovered from Jonov's bag. After arrest, Jonov and the parrots were produced before the Delhi court. While Jonov has been sent to judicial custody, the parrots have been sent in care of wildlife department. Parrots are scheduled birds under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. According to the Wildlife Protection Act, no one can keep wild birds as pets. Anyone taking care of such birds must either hand them over to the forest department or release them in forests, lakes and parks.
According to the Wildlife Protection Act, if the bird belongs to Schedule-I then the accused will be punished with seven years imprisonment or with fine up to Rs 25,000 or both.
According to Special Public Prosecutor PC Aggarwal, the court has ordered the birds to be freed while sending the accused in 14-day judicial custody. While the defence counsel sought bail for the accused, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Khurana said that the parrots export is banned and dismissed the argument. Aggarwal also admitted that it was the first time in last 20-25 years that live birds were produced before the court. He said that it is a due procedure to produce the seized items by the customs before the court. Hence, the parrots were also produced before the court. Wildlife Inspector and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau officials were also called in to verify the exact nature and species of the parrots. After thorough examination, it was straightened that the parrots were live parakeets (of the family Psittacidae).
