Fake tiger paw and hide flummox trafficking chain
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Pune Mirror
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Pune
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20 Jul 2012
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Farmers, students nabbed for selling tiger parts found to have been fooled with painted canine body parts
A chain of traffickers was in for a rude shock when crime branch officials uncovered that the tiger paw and hide they had been attempting to sell turned out to be fake.
The farmers and students from the Sangamner district of Ahmednagar caught out by authorities were attempting to sell what experts said was the paw of a dog or some other animal. Surprisingly, no case was made against the chain of people` humanitarian grounds`.
It all started when senior police inspector Bhanupratap Barge of the Social Security Cell and his team received tip off that a watchman at Hinjewadi was looking for customers for a tiger’s hide and paw. When questioned, watchman Vishal Kasar (24), told police that fellow villagers Annasaheb Kasar (22) had the items. On Saturday, a police team reached Sangamner and nabbed Annasaheb, who said the trafficked items would be received from Shahji Kasbe (21) and Tanaji Munde (20). Police questioned them and they said the hide came from farmer Navnath Chavan (28), who had gone to Ellora for an urus (jatra), where a tribal man sold him the parts claiming they belonged to the protected carnivore.
Barge told Mirror the tribal took Rs 2,000 from Chavan for the fake items. The entire chain never stopped to check their authenticity. "Police called in experts and confirmed that both items were fake- the tribal had cheated them all," added Barge.
Kasbe and Munde are pursuing their education and want to join administrative service while Kasar wishes to study to be a policeman, " Keeping in mind their futures, police decided to not make a case against them, " Barge said.
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