Fisherman Booked For Hunting Gangetic Dolphin in Bihar's Kosi River, Planned to Extract Oil

A fisherman in Bihar's Saharsa has landed in legal trouble after allegedly catching a dolphin in the Kosi River. The incident came to light after a video showing the fisherman with the dolphin went viral on social media. Following the video's circulation, the Forest Department registered an FIR against the accused, while police launched raids to locate him.

The incident was reported from Govindpur village under Dharhar panchayat in Saharsa district's Nawhatta block. According to officials, Birendra Mukhiya, a resident of Dharhara, was fishing in the Kosi river basin when a dolphin became trapped in his net.

The fisherman allegedly placed the dolphin on his boat and was preparing to take it home when a local youth spotted him. The man questioned him and explained that the Ganges river dolphin is India's national aquatic animal and that killing or hunting it is a punishable offence under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Despite the warning, the fisherman allegedly told the man that he intended to kill the dolphin and extract its oil. The youth then recorded the interaction on his mobile phone, including footage of the fisherman and the dolphin. As word spread, several villagers gathered at the spot. The fisherman eventually took the dolphin home, where family members reportedly posed for photographs with it.

There are very few Ganges River Dolphins left, and they are India's National Aquatic Animal. Yet, in Bihar, a dolphin was caught in a fishing net, and the fisherman reportedly said, “I'll extract oil from it.”This is deeply shameful. Endangered wildlife is not content or a… pic.twitter.com/33R6k9C2EA

However, after some people warned him that he could face legal action, the fisherman allegedly became frightened and abandoned the dolphin near the riverbank before fleeing.

The video subsequently spread rapidly on social media and eventually reached the district administration. Taking the matter seriously, the Forest Department began an investigation and intensified efforts to locate the accused. Officials said Mukhiya had fled not only his home but also the village.

A Forest Department team visited the site and began examining the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Saharsa Forest Range Officer B.K. Rai said the department had taken cognisance of the video and described the alleged hunting of the dolphin as a serious offence under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. He said an FIR had been registered against Veerendra Mukhiya and that the accused would be arrested with the help of police

The Ganges River Dolphin is India's national aquatic animal, found in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system across India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is functionally blind and navigates and hunts using echolocation. It can only live in freshwater. Once widespread, its population has sharply declined to around 3,500-4,000 due to pollution, dam construction, habitat loss, and accidental entanglement in fishing nets. Listed as Endangered by IUCN and protected under Schedule I of India's Wildlife Protection Act, it is a key indicator of river health.