Keonjhar: A YouTuber was arrested on Monday on charges of keeping parrots in captivity and uploading videos on YouTube. The arrested YouTuber was identified as Chinmay Mahanta, a 25-year-old resident of Kumudi village under Bansapal Block in Odisha’s Keonjhar district.
Chinmay was arrested for alleged violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Chinmay was arrested on the basis of a complaint by the Honorary Wildlife Warden of Khurda Subhendu Mallik to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife). He was arrested by Range Officer Manas Kumar Murmu of Bhuiyan Zhuang Pirdh Rangers on the instructions of PCCF.
According to Keonjhar DFO Dhanraj HD, Chinmay had uploaded some videos on his YouTube channel showing how to teach a parrot of Alexandrine parakeet species to talk. Mahanta has been accused of keeping the birds in captivity, torturing them, and uploading the hunting videos on his YouTube channel for commercial gain. The videos are posted on the latter’s YouTube channel named ‘Chinmay Vai’.
In an email to the PCCF-Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden of Odisha, Subhendu Mallik accused Chinmay of torturing and hunting Alexandrine parakeets.
Numerous videos were posted on Chanmay’s channel with hunted parakeets and they provide prima facie evidence of a non-bailable wildlife offence that warrants the immediate arrest of Chinmay, DFO Dhanraj HD claimed.
The videos uploaded on YouTube by the youth using hunted parakeets provide sufficient ground for taking strict action against him, Mallik claimed.
