15 Barn Owls rescued by police, bird seller held in old city

Hyderabad: In a joint operation Sleuths of Commissioner’s Task force along with the State Forest officials on Wednesday nabbed a bird seller from Old city for allegedly indulging in illegal sale of Barn Owls.

The accused Kamran Ali Farooqhi aka Imran Ali is a Bird Seller since five years at Murgi Chowk, Hussaini Alam. He acquires different types of birds and animals for selling to the needy customers from known persons. Daily he used to travel Srisailam forest remote areas and surrounding villages.

He targets the dilapidated water tanks where the owls used to stay. In the early morning hours he climbs the water tanks and catches barn owls. He used to sell the owls to needy customers and making quick bucks.

The Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Task force G Chakravarthy said that the Barn Owls makes huge demand in the market, each owl sold to a price ranging from 10,000/- to 100,000/-. There is a superstitious belief like rotating the owl around the human body may leads to good luck.

On Wednesday the task force police along with the forest department officials apprehended the accused who found in possession of 15 Barn Owls at Guddi Ka Dawakhana, Teegala Kunta, Falaknuma, Hyderabad.