A Delhi court on Tuesday revoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) that was slapped on poacher Sansar Chand. The Court order paves the way for Chand, the man believed to be single-handedly responsible for the missing tigers of Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, to walk out of prison on bail.
Fifty-five-year-old Chandis likely to appeal for bail later this week and could be out as early as this weekend with the charges under MCOCA being revoked.
While the maximum punishment for poaching under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) does not exceed seven years, conviction under the MCOCA may entail life imprisonment. During the course of his trial, Chand has been in jail since 2005 and has already spent around eight years in jail.
Accused of killing over 200 tigers besides thousands of other wildlife species, Chand argued against being charged under MCOCA on technical grounds since it was filed as a supplementary charge.
Arrested by the Delhi Police in a top secret swoop code-named Operation Murari Lal, Chand is accused in at least 50 cases of killing and cruelty to animals. However, owing to shoddy investigations, the authorities could prove charges in only one case conclusively in the court.
Chand, his associates and relatives were held responsible for the killing of tigers and leopards at Sariska. However, despite being caught over a dozen times, Chand always managed to get away until 2005 when the CBI caught him red-handed in possession of leopard skin from near the Sadar Bazar area. He was convicted by a lower court in 2010. The CBI had subsequently chargesheeted him under the MCOCA, a first against anyone accused of crime against wildlife.
