Two scorpions and five turtles of rare species have been rescued from Kriya Yog Ashram at Tapovan in Rishikesh on Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, a forest department team assisted by local police raided the ashram. During the search, the team rescued the turtles and the scorpions from different locations in the area. The forest officers said that while being questioned, the managers of the ashram failed to give a satisfactory explanation behind the recovery.
Speaking to The Pioneer, deputy ranger Shivpuri Range D P Baluni said, “We have released the rescued turtles and scorpions in the forest after they were recovered from the ashram. We are investigating. If found guilty, those running the ashram might be made to pay fines of Rs 25000 under the Wild Life Act.â€
SI Sanjeev Kumar, forest guard Akhilesh Kumar and inspector R K Saklani were among the members of the team which launched the rescue operation.
