A pair of parakeets had made a nest in a hole in a dead coconut tree, and two chicks were born there. But on the evening of Thursday (6 May) the chicks were stolen. Homeowner Kazi Sarowar Alam Piyar (58), the report says, was more upset by this than he had been when lightning killed the coconut tree. Not knowing what to do, he sent a message to the Pabna police superintendent asking him to recover the chicks.

It might have looked like an unreasonable demand, but Pabna Superintendent of Police Mohibul Islam Khan did not disappoint him. Through police action, the two chicks were recovered on Saturday night (8 May) and delivered to his home. The incident took place in Nayabari village under Aminpur police station in Bera upazila of Pabna.

Kazi Sarwar Alam Piyar of Nayabari said there are several large coconut trees in the outer yard of his house. One died after being struck by lightning about five years ago, but he could not bear to cut his beloved tree for firewood. A pair of parakeets nested in it and he grew attached to the birds. On Thursday evening, someone stole the two chicks from the hollow at the top of the 50-foot tree.

When he messaged the SP about the theft, the SP was moved by his love for birds and took the matter seriously. He immediately instructed Roushan Kabir, officer-in-charge (OC) of Aminpur police station. Police learned that a man in Nayabari village could climb any tree and that only he could climb the 50-foot coconut tree. Police went to the man's house (his name is being withheld) and questioned him. He denied it at first but later confessed everything, describing how he stole and sold the chicks and what he bought.

The accused said he can climb any tree. On Thursday, right after iftar, he climbed to the top of the coconut tree in the dark at the risk of his life and took the two chicks from the mother bird. On the way back he met a man from Nayabari Shilpara and sold him the chicks for Tk 1,500. That night he rushed to the market with the money and bought a shirt for Tk 400 and sandals for Tk 200, spending another Tk 500 on various items. He was left with Tk 400.

He gave police the details of the buyer. Acting on this, sub-inspector (SI) Ripon of Aminpur police station recovered the two chicks and brought them to the police station; the report dates this Friday (8 May). The chicks were then handed to their owner, Kazi Sarowar Alam Piyar, who went home with the OC and released them.

Aminpur OC Roushan Kabir said on Sunday morning (9 May) that the man who stole the chicks was released into the custody of a relative after giving a written undertaking not to do such a thing again.

Kazi Sarwar Alam Piyar said he had heard that Pabna's current police superintendent is a humane officer who helps people in trouble and delivers justice, and it was in that belief that he turned to SP Mohibul Islam Khan. He said he was delighted with the SP's action.

SP Mohibul Islam Khan told Jago News that catching or killing wildlife is a punishable offence. Beyond the legal side, the incident involved deep emotion and genuine love for birds, he said, and he was himself happy that love for the birds had won in the end.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.