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The Forest department on Thursday arrested 10 youths who illegally trespassed on a reserve forest land and provoked wild animals. According to the department officials, the incident occurred around 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the Valara forest station limits under the Neriamangalam forest range. Two vehicles and a dog too were seized.
The arrested are Ernakulam residents Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Basil Kuriakose, Amal Raj, Vishnu Jayan, Ashwin Raj, Anoop, Bijin Thampi, Arjun Suresh, Lijo M. Thankachen, and Aarbin C. Mathew. According to Forest department officials, the youths illegally entered the forest area with two vehicles and a pit bull, raised noise, and provoked the animals.
“The Forest department staff noticed the illegal entry during a field inspection, alerted the higher officials, and registered a case against the youths under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The vehicles and the dog were also seized and produced before court. After the court grants permission, the Forest department will hand over the dog to the owner. The accused were produced before Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Adimaly,” said a Forest official.
