Khoksha dolphin killed, youth arrested for posting video on TikTok

Saddam Hossain (28), a resident of Notun Sengram in Ambaria Union of Khoksha Upazila of Kushtia, has been arrested on charges of sharing a video of him catching an endangered aquatic animal, a dolphin, on social media. He was arrested from the Khoksha Upazila premises around 9:30 pm on Thursday (October 30).

On the same day, at noon, forest department officials from Kushtia, Khoksha and Rajbari went to the spot and filed a complaint with Khoksha Police Station after conducting a preliminary investigation. Khoksha Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Mainul Islam said, “Saddam Hossain has been arrested under sections 37 and 41 of the Wildlife Conservation Act. He is being interrogated, further legal proceedings are underway.”

It is learnt that a 28-second video was posted on Saddam Hossain’s Facebook page on Tuesday (October 28). In the video, a man is seen running with a dead porcupine on his shoulder and saying, ‘You see, this bastard’s child eats all the hilsa in the Padma River, people are not getting any hilsa, so I am catching it.’ When the video went viral, there was intense anger among the general public.

Divisional Forest Officer Md. Rezaul Alam said that the porcupine was rescued from fishermen in a dead state. Saddam recorded the video and posted it on social media, which is a crime under the Wildlife Conservation Act. Legal action will be taken after investigating the matter.

Saddam Hossain said, “Forest department officials came, I explained everything to them. I took the porcupine from the fishermen, recorded the video and returned it to them.” Locals confirmed the matter.