Four held for hunting peacock in J&K's Rajouri

Four persons were arrested on Monday for allegedly hunting a peacock in a forest area in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The arrests were made after a dead peacock was recovered from one of the accused during vehicle checking in Kalal area of Nowshera, Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajouri, Yougal Manhas said.

The arrested persons were identified as Gurdeep Singh, Charan Singh, Karnail Singh and Jasbir Singh -- all residents of different villages of Nowshera, the SSP said, adding that a 12-bore gun used for killing the peacock was recovered from their possession.

The hunting of peacock, the country's national bird, is prohibited by law.

All the four accused were booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, the officer said.

He said police acted on a tip-off about hunting of peacocks in Kalal forest and initially arrested Gurdeep while he was taking away the dead peacock in his car.

His questioning led to the arrest of the other three accused, the SSP said, adding the weapon of offence was recovered from Charan Singh.