A kangaroo was rescued from a goods vehicle in West Bengal's Alipurduar district for the first time and two persons from Hyderabad were arrested for allegedly being involved in trafficking of the animal, police said on Sunday.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team intercepted a mini-truck on National Highway-31 in Barobisha area near the Assam-West Bengal border and rescued the animal, a senior officer said.
"The vehicle was intercepted during a Naka checking. It is suspected that the two arrested persons were trying to smuggle the kangaroo to Hyderabad," Kumargram Police Station inspector in-charge Basudeb Sarkar said.
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Earlier, many other animals and exotic birds were saved before being trafficked, but a kangaroo has been rescued for the first time, the officer said.
Asked about the fact that kangaroos are not found in India, he said, "The accused persons are being interrogated to know where from they soured the animal and what was their motive. They may have links with international wildlife trafficking rackets."
Kangaroos are large marsupials that are found mostly in Australia and New Guinea.
(With Inputs from PTI)