So far 39 accused have been sent to jail
Raipur, 20 July 2023
Under the guidance of Forest and Climate Change Minister Mr. Mohammad Akbar, the department is continuing an intensive campaign for the prevention of forest crimes in the state. In this episode, the forest department has got great success in catching the tiger smugglers gang. So far 39 accused involved in its smuggling have been sent to jail.
Significantly, the Forest Department has taken the biggest action so far by forming a joint team in the wildlife smuggling case. Nine accused involved in smuggling of tiger skin from Rudraram village of Indravati Tiger Reserve, Bijapur were arrested along with tiger skins and sent to jail on July 3, 2023 under Wildlife Protection Act 1972. After this, other accused were also caught on the trail of the accused. As on 18 July 2023, a total of 39 accused have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.
The main accused in the case are Tulsiram, Ramkumar Tinge, Omprakash Thakur, Ganesh Yalam and Manoj Kursam, Amit Kumar Jha, Aarti Das Gandharva, Putul Burman (female accused), Pitambar Sahu, Sudhakar Hatwar, Shyamrao Shivankar, Shalikram Markam, Ashok Khotele, Jageshwar Sahu, Dharmarao Chaple, Shravan Jhari, Ranjit Kuldeep, Ali Baksh Khan, Kishore Dasharia etc. have been involved in the sale and purchase of tiger, leopard skin, tortoise and other wildlife.
In this case, a total of 39 accused have been sent to judicial custody so far and currently 07 accused related to the case are absconding. Due to the connection of the accused with the smuggling gang of Maharashtra, the joint team arrested 14 accused from Bhandara, Gondia and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra on the charges of electrocuting the tiger in village Kosatola, Saleksa and sent them to jail in judicial custody. Has been sent.
In the case, tiger skin, 02 pieces of deer horns and tiger bones, leopard skin, kotri horn-2 pieces, kotri skull-01 piece, owl skull, owl claw-02 pieces, sambar horn-02 pieces, bear nail-04 pieces, car, motorcycle, mobile phone, G.I. Noose etc. material has been recovered.
Deputy Director of Indravati Tiger Reserve, Dhammasheel Ganveer said that this entire operation has been done jointly by forming a team. In which Deputy Director of Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve Mr. Varun Jain, Forest Divisional Officer Durg Mr. Shashi Kumar, Shashiganandan Forest Divisional Officer West Bhanupratappur and the team of the concerned Forest Division have succeeded in catching this big smuggler gang. The police department also had a commendable contribution in this action.
