A timely tip-off and pressure from MP Maneka Gandhi saved the lives of hundreds of birds and rabbits on a train. But more than 100 of them had already died.
The Government Railway Police intercepted the consignment destined for Kanpur from a passenger train at Ghaziabad Tuesday.
But by then over 100 birds and a dozen rabbits had died due to asphyxia, a police officer said. The rest, among them the rare zebra finch, were safely recovered.
The GRP registered a case against unknown smugglers. The consignment was booked from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh by a Mohammad Fareed.
Police said they were alerted by Aasima Sunil, a representative of People for Animals, an NGO in Ghaziabad.
PFA activists wanted the train halted to rescue the animals but railway officials pleaded helplessness.
That was when Maneka Gandhi swung into action and got the Railway Board to stop the train.
The parcel was headed to New Delhi, from where it was to be shifted to another train going to Kanpur, a police official said.