Maha: Two peachicks rescued from smugglers in Thane city

Two peachicks were rescued from alleged smugglers in Chandanwadi locality of Maharashtra'sThane city, a forest official said on Tuesday.

The matter came to light when an activist of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Monday spotted two persons witha cardboard box moving in a suspicious manner, the official said.

On enquiring about the contents of the box, the duo dropped the package and fled the scene, following which MNSactivist Mahesh Kadam found two peachicks inside, he said.

The forest department was immediately alerted and the birds were handed over to officials at Yeoor, the official said.

An offence has been registered against the two unidentified accused for possessing and transporting classified animals, forester Narendra Muthe of the Thaneforest division said.

The birds are currently housed at a rescue centre and a probe is underway to find out from where they were procured, the official added.