Bhubaneswar, May 1 -- Acting on a tip-off, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel on Tuesday rescued 117 live turtles from Bhubaneswar Railway station when they were being illegally transported in Utkal Express train. Four persons, including a woman, have been arrested in this connection.

The turtles were rescued based on an intelligence input that some persons were carrying the live turtles in the general coach of Utkal Express. As soon as the train reached Bhubaneswar railway station, the RPF officers searched the coach and rescued the live turtles packed in four bags.

The accused have been identified as Ajay Mohana, Bimal, Subhashish Parida and Sushma Barik.

Preliminary investigation reveals that the accused had purchased the ...