Lok Sabha Member and People for Animals chief Maneka Gandhi today alleged that the police was trying to shield former Indian Cricket Captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi in the case of poaching registered against him.

“It is shameful that instead of making sincere efforts to arrest Pataudi, the Haryana police is sitting idle, waiting for the grant of anticipatory bail to him,” she maintained.

Ms Gandhi, who was in the city in connection with a seminar on animal safety organised by the local chapter of the People for Animals, lambasted the police for the delay in arresting the culprits.

The BJP MP demanded that Pataudi’s wife Sharmila Tagore should resign from the post of the Film Censor Board Chairperson in view of the incident. She also exhorted the people to boycott Pataudi’s family and stop watching Saif Ali Khan’s movies.

Ms Gandhi expressed happiness over the fact that a majority of people in Haryana were vegetarians. She appealed to the people to plant more saplings and adopt a compassionate attitude towards the animals.