Bidar forest dept seizes rare red sand boa, arrests 3 smugglers

Bidar: Officials of the Bidar Forest Department seized a rare red sand boa snake worth lakhs that was being smuggled from Telangana to Maharashtra and arrested three people who were smuggling it on Thursday.While the snake was being taken from Telangana in a car registered in Andhra Pradesh, the officials of the forest department intercepted the vehicle near Chikkapet on the outskirts of Bidar city based on authentic information and seized the snake and the accused.It is said that this rare snake, weighing over 5.3 kg, is used for making medicine and for many illegal activities.A case has been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, in this regard. Three accused, including one accused from Telangana and two from Maharashtra, have been arrested and are being interrogated. Also, the car used in the crime has been seized.The raid was led by Bidar DFO Ashish Reddy, ACFO Chandrasekhar Hema, range forest officer Vijayakumar Jadhav, deputy range forest Officer Ravi Roopsingh, and staff.