Mumbai police seized four paws of a lion, one paw of a tiger and a skin of a tiger and registered a case against 4 persons including a Gujarati.
the accused
In two separate cases, the police arrested 4 persons for smuggling tiger skins and lion claws. MHB’s in the first case Police Officials received information that some people were involved in selling contraband in Borivali-West. According to the DCP, Suraj Karande, Mohsin Jundre and Manzoor Mankar were abducted by setting a trap. 12 tiger claws and skin were seized from them. In another case, Borivali police officials received information that a person was roaming around to sell some contraband. During that time, Jigar Pandya, an electrician from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, was caught by setting a trap near the telephone exchange of Borivali. The tiger-lion claws were seized from him and an investigation was conducted. Jigar Pandya claimed that ‘My uncle gave me a lion’s paw when I was young. My uncle used this in black magic. Due to the economic weakness due to Corona, I thought of paying off the debt by selling the lion’s claws.
He was arrested under various sections of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 and further questioned. Strict action will be taken against the four accused and investigation will be conducted to find out whether other people are involved or not.