Three alleged tiger traders arrested

September 9, 2013

Three alleged tiger traders were arrested on Saturday by the Delhi Crime Branch, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and the Maharashtra Forest Department. They also seized 18 kg of tiger bone, tiger canines and claws.

Two of the arrested men are believed to be key players in the recent tiger poaching case in Maharashtra. The accused in that case told the authorities that they had sold 11 tiger skins to Sarju Bagdi. He was one of the men arrested on Saturday, along with his accomplice Narsh and Suraj Pal who is believed to have been a close associate of the notorious tiger killer, Sansar Chand.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) S W H Naqvi confirmed the arrests. “Some tiger bones were recovered from them,” he said. “The bones, however, apparently don’t belong to Maharashtra cases.”

Smarting from a series of revelations about tiger killings in Melghat and other parts of Maharashtra in recent times, the state Forest Department was in hot pursuit of Sarju, who had purchased 11 tiger skins from poachers, 14 of whom are currently under arrest.

Some more arrests will be made in the case, Naqvi said.

Source: The Indian Express