Three given jail for wildlife trafficking
|
|
|
New Delhi, Nov 17 - A Delhi court Saturday sentenced two Tibetans and a Nepalese to five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs.10,000 each for trying to smuggle 45 leopard and 15 otter skins to Nepal in 2005.Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Alok Agarwal of Tis Hazari court, awarding the sentences under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, said the sentences would be extended by three months in case of default.Ten witnesses were examined in the trial that began two-and-a-half years ago.The Tibetans, Anand Tashi and Lobsang Phuntsok, and a Nepali citizen Jeet Bahadur were caught on April 6, 2005, with the animal skins at the Majnu-Ka-Tila Tibetan settlement in the capital.During investigation, they disclosed that they were working for a person called Tchhwang Tashi Tsering, a notorious wildlife trader who operates from Nepal.He paid Puntsok and Bahadur Rs.1,000 each to store the skins, which he had got from another notorious wildlife poacher, Sansar Chand, and take the skins to Nepal. Sansar Chand is now in jail.Tashi was Tsering's points man and assigned to conceal the contraband.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probed the case following a Supreme Court order on a petition by Ashok Kumar of the NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).The NGO had tipped-off police about the illegal consignment. Subsequently, a close watch at Majnu-Ka-Tila by police led to the arrest and seizure of the skins.The three, while in custody moved four bail applications but all were rejected.The NGO said safe hideouts in Majnu-Ka-Tila settlement were used to store smuggled wildlife derivatives and even to strike business deals by some Tibetans who acted as middlemen in the wildlife trade.According to Kumar, there are nearly a dozen wildlife cases involving Tibetans, but this was the first such case in which a court has pronounced a sentence. Many more cases are still pending.Kumar said the seizure was one of the largest in recent years and the conviction would go a long way in dissuading people from wildlife trafficking. (c) Indo-Asian News Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
Pakistan charges seven suspects in Mumbai terror attack
Islamabad - A Pakistani court on Wednesday indicted seven people suspected of involvement in the terrorist attacks in India's financial hub of Mumbai one year ago. Prosecutor Malik Rab Nawaz said the suspects had been indicted for planning, financin...
PREVIEW: Prayers, police parade to commemorate Mumbai attack
New Delhi - Prayer meetings, a police parade and the re-opening of the Jewish Chabad House are among the many events scheduled Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on India's financial hub Mumbai that killed more than 160 pe...
Pakistan says India planning war against it
Islamabad - Pakistan issued on Tuesday a verbal salvo, accusing its archrival India of preparing for a limited war against it. India has long been working on the so-called 'Cold Start' strategy and preparing for a limited war against Pakistan, Mi...
Indian government presents mosque demolition report to parliament
New Delhi - Amid scuffles and shouting, the government presented a report on the 1992 destruction of the Babri mosque in parliament Tuesday, one day after leaks of its findings had created a political storm. The Indian Express newspaper reported Mond...
India test-fires nuclear-capable Agni II missile
New Delhi - India has test fired its nuclear-capable Agni II ballistic missile, a defence official said Tuesday. The surface-to-surface missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometres, was test-fired Monday evening from the Wheeler island launch site ...
India's Singh seeks better intelligence ties in war on terrorism
Washington - The United States and India should seek to improve intelligence sharing and cooperation to combat terrorism, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday. While Washington and New Dehli already have a solid relationship when it comes...
Early presidential elections announced in Sri Lanka
Colombo - President Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday announced new elections for January, two years ahead of schedule, a cabinet minister said. Rajapaksa made the announcement to the leaders of his coalition partners, and told them that he had decided to run...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
