The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Former forest contractor has links with smuggler Sansarchand’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 15, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Former forest contractor has links with smuggler Sansarchand’

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: Investigations by the CID Forest Cell have revealed that the former forest contractor Prabhakar K. Gajakosha (50), from whose houses huge quantities of tiger, leopard and otter skins were seized on Thursday, is an associate of international wildlife smuggler Sansarchand, who is presently lodged in Tihar jail.

Inspector-General of Police (Forest Cell) K.S.N. Chikkerur told presspersons here on Friday that Prabhakar, a resident of Haliyal town in Uttara Kannada district, also has links with Katni, Baheliya, Bawaria and Hakki-Pikki poacher gangs, from whom Sansarchand procured wildlife products.

In June 2007, the Gujarat police arrested a Katni woman in Bhavnagar district on charges of poaching lions. Prabhakar’s mobile phone and landline telephone numbers were found with the arrested women and they had spoken to him several times, he said.

Investigations have also pointed out that in 2006 Sansarchand’s brother Rajkumar came to Haliyal and collected three tiger skins from Prabhakar, who is into illegal wildlife trade for over 15 years, Mr. Chikkerur said. Referring to raids conducted on Prabhakar’s houses in Haliyal and Hubli on Thursday, the IGP said the seized tiger skin and also some of the leopard skins had bullet marks, indicating that the animals were shot dead. “We will seek the help of our counterparts from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and will investigate where these animals were poached,” Mr. Chikkerur said.

To a query, Mr. Chikkerur said Prabhkara could have had taken advantage of his status as a licensed forest contractor to indulge in illegal wildlife trade. However, for some reasons the Forest Department did not renew his licence this year, he added.

Mr. Chikkerur said there was a connection between wildlife traders and poacher gangs in Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. For instance, in 2004 the Rajasthan police arrested Sansarchand’s wife Rani in Jaipur. A man arrested with Rani was identified as R.P. Singh, of the Hakki-Pikki tribe, and a native of Angadihalli in Belur taluk of Hassan district. Presently, he is a resident of Shiralkoppa in Davangere district, he said.

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