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Chinkara case: Atram quits Maharashtra Cabinet

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: Accused of hunting a chinkara, the Maharashtra Minister of State for Transport and Tribal Development, Dharmaraobaba Atram, resigned from the State Cabinet on Monday.

Mr. Atram had allegedly hunted a chinkara in Pune district. A Forest Department source said that he would face charges under Section 50 (8) of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Resignation accepted

He submitted his resignation to the Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, who forwarded it to the acting Governor, S.C. Jamir. The latter has accepted it.

Mr. Atram represents Sironcha-ST constituency of naxal-infested Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. This is his second term and he belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party.

Arrest sought

The State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitin Gadkari, alleged that the Deputy Chief Minister, R.R. Patil, who holds the Home portfolio and the Forest Minister, Babanrao Pachpute, were shielding Mr. Atram and demanded his arrest.

The Minister and his party had hunted the chinkara on June 14 in Choudharwadi village. They had allegedly taken the dead animal to a farmhouse at the hill station of Panchgani where the meat was consumed.

The police have seized three vehicles involved in the hunting, the weapons used and also the chinkara skin. Two security guards, Suresh Birmane and Ravindra Wadkar, have been arrested.

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