Chameleon trading racket busted in Odisha, 2 held

Bhubaneswar, Aug 29 (IANS) Odisha Forest officials on Monday arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in illegal trading of chameleon, an endangered species, an official said.The accused duo has been identified as Rashmi Ranjan Das and Khirod Mohanty. The accused struck a deal of Rs 1.5 lakh to sell the chameleon.Conducting a trap, a joint team of Bhubaneswar range and Mancheswar range officials have arrested the accused from Vani Vihar area in Bhubaneswar, the official added."The accused have made a deal with us to sell a chameleon with an amount of Rs 1.5 lakh. As per telephonic conversation, they came to Mukherjee Park and we arrested them," said Manas Ranjan Mohanty, Bhubaneswar Forest ranger.As chameleon is categorised as Schedule-II animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it is illegal to capture or sell it, he said.
--IANS bbm/khz/

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