Baby Crocodile recovered from a doctor in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, 17 July, 2014

Forest department team in Ahmedabad recovered a freshwater baby marsh crocodile on Wednesday. As per the primary details, a person held in city by forest officials on tip-off had sold a two month old baby crocodile to an orthopedic doctor who lives in city’s Sabarmati area. The doctor has been identified as Dr. Himanshu Devdutt Khara.

As per the initial investigation, the doctor had purchased baby crocodile for Rs. 19,000. A person who smuggled crocodile to doctor told forest officials that he had purchased baby crocodiles from Mumbai.

Hiren Patel who is the mastermind of this network is being questioned by forest officials along with Patel’s agent. It is believed that doctor had purchased crocodile for Vastu purpose. The doctor is reportedly visiting Singapore at present. Forest department has kept a baby crocodile at Forest department’s campus in Ahmedabad’s Hansol area. Crocodile is one of the protected species. Forest department officials who tracked this network through whatsapp, have now information that total seven crocodiles were sold in Ahmedabad city in recent past.

Author’s note: Forest department must ensure that all seven crocodiles sold in Ahmedabad( if it’s true and they are alive) are recovered at earliest. Those who purchased these crocodile may release them in panic in nearby Samarmati river or other water body following Forest department’s ongoing investigation, details of which are now out in media. If others involved in this network, or buyers release crocodiles the possess in river, the same river will become a dangerous place for visitors, because crocodiles have generally good chances of survival on their own in water body, and population of crocodiles multiply very fast. Parts of Narmada river and Vadodara’s Vishwamitri river in central Gujarat are already declared dangerous to approach following newly emerged menace of crocodiles.