Wildlife offender’s claim has cops in fix
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A wildlife offender, who was arrested on charges of possessing a leopard pelt in Kodagu last week, has told the investigating officers that he is, in fact, a police informer. The accused, Sheik Hussain, claimed to have raided several wildlife smugglers in the past with the help of police officials. Hussain was arrested along with Vijay, a local BJP leader in Somwarpet, as the duo was trying to strike a deal in leopard pelt. Last week, the CID Forest Cell team from Bengaluru raided the duo in Kodagu and recovered the pelt. A case was filed and the accused were handed over to Kodagu Town Police.
A senior police officer said that the accused Hussain claimed to be in touch with one ‘SP’ (whose name he does not remember) and worked on cases involving wildlife smugglers. “He claimed to have procured the skin from the police officials. Presently, police have only booked cases for wildlife offence. They should try to figure out if there is a larger network. There are chances of some police officers and government officials being involved in wildlife racket,” said a police officer. Five days after the arrest, the BJP has suspended Vijay from the post of general secretary of the party’s minority wing in Somawarpet.
Police are yet to ascertain where the leopard pelt was indeed procured from police officials, as Hussain had claimed. An investigating officer said the leopard skin was old and must have been poached two years ago. “Leopards are free-moving animals and often venture outside the wooded areas and hunt livestock in human populations during nights.
This makes the poacher’s job easy to wait outside the forest with a bait. There were also cases where poisoned meat is thrown to kill leopards so that the skin is intact,” informed Mr Sharat Babu of the BBMP Forest Cell.
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