CHANDRAPUR: Forest officials of Sironcha range in Gadchiroli nabbed two persons with 8.5kg pangolin scales. The accused hail from Chhattisgarh and had smuggled the scales to Sironcha for an Asaralli-based doctor Prafulla Das, who was also arrested on their identification. Trio was produced before the local court in Sironcha on Sunday evening, from where they were sent into forest custody remand till August 5.
Forest officials got a tip-off about the people coming from Chhattisgarh with the pangolin scales. Accordingly RFO, Sironcha Range AD Karpe laid a trap for the approaching smugglers on the outskirts of Sironcha town. Four accused who came on two separate motorbikes were intercepted by the lurking forest team. Two of them, however, left their bikes and fled away in the jungle. The raiding team, however, nabbed the two other accused riding the second bike.
“Accused SamaiyyaGota and BakkiayaJawa, both from Chhatisgarh were arrested in the raid. Two more accused, however, managed to flee. We have seized 8.5kg pangolin scales along with two motorbikes from their possession. They had brought the scales for one DrPrafulla Das who lives in Asaralli. Dr Das too was later arrested for his involvement in the crime,” said RFO, Karpe.
ACF, Sironcha forest division, LM Belekar, said “The two accused tribals and Dr Das appear to be part of a large nexus involved in smuggling of pangolin scales to south Asian countries from Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the country. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau itself is taking keen interest in the arrests and has sought details of the accused and investigations. We are trying to unearth the Chhattisgarh links where actual poaching of pangolins was carried out for their scales.” He said Dr Das had sought 20kg of scales and the seized booty was part fulfillment of his demand.
Pangolin, also called a scaly anteater, is scale-covered mammal listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972. Killing or trafficking its body parts attracts the same sections as are applied to crimes against tigers and leopards. In September 2014, Kelwad police had arrested a pangolin scale smuggler from Navapur in Balia district of Uttar Pradesh and seized 43kg scale. This was the biggest haul in the country ever. The pangolins were poached in Chhindwara district.
Similarly, in the first week of May, MP forest officials arrested a Kolkata-based businessman, who is part of a global racket involved in smuggling Indian pangolins to China and Vietnam, where its blood, meat and scales are sold to traditional medical practitioners at a premium.
