LUCKNOW: In a judgment that will go a long way in wildlife protection in UP, Allahabad additional district judge S N Agnihotri on Tuesday awarded 12 poachers three-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 each under Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Ten of these poachers, who belong to Katni in Madhya Pradesh, are women.
Two men, Insatt and Sushil, and 10 women, including Mirsana, Sarojini, Sukhchain, Suhana, Rafeli, Meenabai, Juhi Chawla, Kiloran, Rango and Chillo , were arrested in December 2007 in Allahabad along with four traders by a team of police and Special Task Force led by Civil Lines CO Arvind Chaturvedi . The police were assisted by the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). All the 12 poachers belonged to the Bahelia caste and three tiger skins and 75 kg of tiger bones were seized from them.
Giving this information, Tito Joseph of WPSI told TOI: ‘‘ The court had separated the cases of Bahelia poachers and traders’’ . ‘‘ All the 12 poachers did not get bail and were lodged in jail since December 2007,’’ added lawyer Ved Prakash Mishra.
Forest department officials believe that Bawaria and Bahelia poachers are major threat to tigers in the region. Kala Sona, Black Mushroom, Kasturi, Chivi, Kumbh Boda and Safeda are just some of the code words that these poachers use to mislead the police.
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