Students kill 250 cranes, sell them to roadside eateries

JORHAT: In a shocking incident, seven teenaged students killed 250 endangered white cranes and sold them to roadside eateries as part of a deal to earn a quick buck in Assam's Jorhat district, officials said.

The boys, studying in Class VII and VIII, had killed the cranes nesting on trees at Nikhantol area in Baligaon Nabotia village along the Brahmaputra river in Jorhat yesterday, DFO Rajib Kumar Das said.

The locals, after getting to know about the boys making a deal with the 'dhaba' owners to sell each crane for Rs 25 to Rs 30, informed the forest department and police, Das said.

The boys were rounded up by police and were handed over to the forest department for interrogation.

During interrogation, the teenagers confessed that they had entered into an agreement with the 'dhaba' owners and sold the birds packed in gunny bags, the DFO said, adding that the boys used sling-shots, stones and other means to kill the cranes.

As the boys were below 18 years of age, their prosecution would be as per the Juvenile Justice Act along with the Wildlife Act, if applicable to them, he said.