A Madhya Pradesh court has awarded four years rigorous imprisonment to an international wildlife trafficker and his four associates for smuggling body parts of tigers and leopards.
The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Narsingarh last week pronounced the verdict sentencing Shamim and his partners Badrilal Sapera, Mansingh, Prahlad and Raghuvir to four years rigorous imprisonment and also imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 each.
Madhya Pradesh forest department's Special Task Force had arrested Shamim, who hails from Kanpur, in February this year, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Wild Life, Jitendra Agrawal said today.
"If they fail to pay the penalty, they will have to serve an additional jail term of 10 months each," Agrawal said.
He said that thy were found guilty under various sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act.
"The STF had nabbed Shamim and his four associates with pangolin skin and sand boa in January this year. Shamim had admitted during questioning that he was involved in the trade of 125 tigers and 1,200 leopard hides in Indian and international markets," he added.
Agrawal said Raghuvir alias Kalicharan was earlier arrested from Guna in 1988 with skin of various animals but he was released later.
"A case was also registered against Raghuvir in Ranthambore in 2005. However, the MP's forest STF this time successfully got him convicted. These convictions are a major success for us," he added.
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