Seven arrested in Sangli with suspected tiger skins

The Times of India , Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Correspondent : Samrat Phadnis
KOLHAPUR: The Sangli police have seized two suspected tiger skins in the last four days from 7 persons, who are allegedly part of a racket dealing in tiger skin. The second skin was recovered last night, the police said.

The incident has shocked forest officers, while nature lovers have called for better security in the Sahyadri tiger reserve.

Experts said the skins have to be verified using DNA sampling to prove if they are genuine. There have been cases of fake tiger skins in western Maharashtra.

Vijay Shetke, Amit Patil and Santosh Shinde, all residents of Sangli, were arrested last week for allegedly possessing tiger skin. The trio is in their thirties and Shinde is still studying in college, police said.

After investigations, police arrested Sanjay Dudhal, Basavraj Rajput and Nikhil Patil, also from Sangli, for their alleged involvement in the illegal trade of tiger skin. On Sunday night, police arrested Mehboob Attar, aged 19 from Rajivnagar in Sangli, and seized the tiger skin in his possession.

Superintendent of police Dilip Sawant told TOI all the seven suspects were produced before a local court and have been remanded in police custody till March 20.

"Prima facie, it looks as if these are genuine tiger skins and we have informed the wildlife department officers to verify. Last week, we had received a tip-off from our source that few people were meeting at Chandani Chowk in Sangli to deal in a tiger skin," Sawant said.

He said they had specific information that the deal would happen in the net-cafe owned by Shetke. Police officers deployed in the area found Shetke, Amit Patil and Shinde wandering suspiciously in the area. Officers trapped them that resulted in the seizure of the first tiger skin kept in the net-cafe on Friday, Sawant said.

On further questioning, the three revealed the names of four others involved in the racket. Police kept a watch on the four suspects and arrested them on Sunday. "We are worried they might be part of a larger gang. Initial investigations have thrown up several possibilities and we are investigating all of them," Sawant added.

Nature lovers, however, have expressed concern over the incident and demanded tight security at the Sahyadri tiger reserve, spread across Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts.

"I don't think the forest department is taking the Sangli incident seriously. Forest officers must improve the security at the tiger reserve. Recently, few poachers were caught in Sangli district. Forest officials ignored their arrests and declined investigations. I am worried for the tigers in the Sahyadri ranges as they aren't safe," said Rohan Bhate, honorary wildlife warden.

Environmentalist Ajit Patil said it is difficult to estimate whether the poaching was done in Sahyadri or any other place. "We have to investigate further and it's not the right time to judge the exact location of poaching. However, foresters must increase the security," he said.

Mohan Karnat, chief conservator of forests of Kolhapur wildlife division, said they were verifying the authenticity of the skins. "We are still investigating the facts. I was aware of the first skin and had informed state officials about the same. We will take necessary information from police about the second skin seized. We are taking every precaution in the tiger reserve to protect the wildlife from poachers," he said.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Kolhapur/Seven-arrested-in-Sangli-with-suspected-tiger-skins/articleshow/32226486.cms
 


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