Endangered dolphin beaten to death in UP; 3 held after video goes viral

Pratapgarh, Jan 08: A Gangetic dolphin was beaten to death by a group of men in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh, leading to the arrest of three people, police said on Friday.

According to police, some people killed the dolphin on December 31 in the Sharda canal near Kotharia village in the Nawabganj police station area, about 70 km way from the district headquarters.

In the video, a group of villagers can be seen mauling the 5-feet-long dolphin with axes and sticks. The dolphin was first trapped with a net and was attacked with axes and sticks after it was held down by its fin.

A Forest Department team rushed to the spot on getting information and took the dead dolphin in custody.

During investigation, names of three persons belonging to Rae Bareli district surfaced and they were arrested on Thursday, ASP (West) Dinesh Dwivedi said.

Those who killed the dolphin were not able to take it away because of its weight, the ASP added.