Fishermen eat dolphin caught from Yamuna in UP, booked

Four fishermen have been booked for allegedly illegally catching a dolphin from the Yamuna river here and eating it, the police said on Monday.

One of the fishermen was arrested after the police took cognisance of a purported video of the incident that went viral on social media on Sunday, they added.

According to a complaint lodged by Chail forest ranger Ravindra Kumar on Monday, a dolphin got trapped in a net when four fishermen from Naseerpur village were fishing in Yamuna in the morning on July 22, Pipri SHO Shravan Kumar Singh said.

They brought out the dolphin from the river and carried it on their shoulder to a house, where they cooked and ate it, Singh said.

The forest ranger, in his complaint, added that some passersby filmed the fishermen while they were carrying away the dolphin, the SHO said.

Based on the forest ranger's complaint, a case has been registered against Ranjeet Kumar, Sanjay, Deevan and Baba under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), the police said.

Ranjeet Kumar has been arrested and is being interrogated, the SHO said, adding that efforts are on to nab the remaining accused.