Animal poaching racket busted

By Prashant Pandey

NEW DELHI, MAY 26. A major racket in poaching of animals in national parks of Uttar Pradesh has been busted by the Delhi police with the arrest of four men. One leopard skin, two pieces of ivory and an antique of Lord Buddha made of ``ashtadhatu'' -- eight metals -- have been recovered from them.

The Special Staff of the Central Delhi police zeroed in on the four men -- Om Prakash, Hanif, Hannan and Hazir Khan -- near Rajendra Place while they were allegedly striking a deal with a decoy customer. The decoy had convinced them that a Hong Kong- based businessman was interested in buying their goods.

Interrogation of the accused revealed that the ivory was procured from Kiratpur village south of the Corbett National Park in UP. A number of elephants had been killed in this area in the past six months.

The leopard skin was procured from a place near the Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur Kheri district. The police are trying to trace the person who had given the antique to Hazir Khan. During investigation, involvement of a doctor in Roorkee came to light. A police team has been sent there.

All four men are residents of Delhi. Hanif is a supervisor at Hamdard University, Om Prakash owned a small flour mill until recently, while Hazir Khan played the role of a conduit. Hannan allegedly was involved in the smuggling of animal skins.

``We are trying to ascertain the involvement of other people in this racket,'' the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), Mr. Uday Sahay, said today. The accused purportedly told the police that they knew of places in UP where ivory and skins are easily available.

The police believe that the recovered items were probably destined for Nepal, China, Middle East or European countries. While ivory because of its medicinal properties is much in demand across China, animal skins find wide acceptance in the fashion industry across most European countries. These items are mostly routed through Nepal and Myanmar.

This year alone the UP police and the State Forest Department have together seized about 125 kg of tiger and leopard bones besides 13 tiger and 30 leopard skins and some ivory. Seven persons, including two from Nepal, were arrested during these seizures. The seizures were made mostly from the Pilibhit, Palia and Lakhimpur Kheri areas of UP.

Meanwhile, two cases, one pertaining to the Wildlife Act and the other to antique theft, have been registered by the Delhi police. Help of wildlife experts has been sought by the police to determine the exact value of the seized goods.

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