Dharawad: 5 held for selling elephant ivory artefacts | Azad Times

Dharawad: The Forest Department Officials and staff have succeeded in nabbing the accused who tried to sell artefacts made of elephant tusks through a special drive and arrested five ivory thieves.

Under the guidance of ADGP CID Bengaluru and In-Charge DIGP CID Forest Unit Bengaluru and Deputy Superintendent of Police CID Forest Unit, Hubballi Division, The Traffic Forest Department arrested five persons and seized elephant ivory artefacts worth lakhs of rupees.

The accused have been identified as Sath Shahajahan Jamadar from Kolhapur, Vijay Rajaram Kumbaar, Sagar Subhash Paranika, Vinayak Namdev Kamble from Nippani and Danji Pandurang Patil.

While trying to sell illegal elephant tusks, the accused were arrested. A decorative strip made of elephant ivory weighing 384 grams, a sword which has a red stone made of elephant tusk weighing 112 grams, a rectangular box made of elephant tusks weighing 350 grams, and an egg-shaped box made of elephant tusks weighing 279 grams were seized.

When the accused Sat Shahajahan Jamadar was interrogated, it was found that his father, Shahajahan Jamadar, had collected these from his father, who in fact many years ago collected from the relatives in Rajasthan during fairs and festivals from saints and kept them at home. “We have come here to sell them knowing that if we sell them, we will earn a lot of money,” he said.

A case has been registered against the accused under sections 9,39,40,48(A)49(B), 50,51,55 R/W Schedule (1) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Police Sub-Inspector Prasad Panekar and staff L. A. Pathak, Ashok Nagarahalli, Ravindra Gonenavara, S. H. Officials congratulated Hulagere and Divya S. Naik for their work.