NEW DELHI: A self-proclaimed religious guru and his son were arrested by Sahibabad police on Wednesday night after People for Animals (PFA) alleged that the accused were in possession of a tiger skin, five tiger teeth, two tiger claws and one elephant tusk.
PFA sources said the guru, known as Acharya Rajendra Shukla, was identified by one Harminder Singh who was also arrested in a PFA undercover operation on Tuesday for trying to sell an ivory necklace to Maneka Gandhi. "We had been on his trail for a while and had identified ourselves as commission agents operating out of Chandni Chowk. He initially said that he was a holy man and had nothing to do with ivory trade, but when he grew to trust us he not only offered us tiger skins and ivory but also promised to supply us with Russian call girls. We settled our deal on a 5% commission,'' said a PFA official.
PFA reportedly recorded all their conversations which they have submitted to police as proof. Meanwhile, they called Shukla and his son, Kunal, to a mall in Sahibabad, SM World, for sealing the deal. There, police arrested the father-son duo and compounded their Scorpio car that contained the confiscated items. Cases were registered against the two under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Rashid Ali, station officer of Sahibabad police station said: "Shukla is claiming that he was framed and since the confiscated items were handed over to us by PFA members, we are trying to establish that Shukla was indeed dealing in the prohibited items. He was operating in western UP and selling illegal goods. His modus operandi was to claim that he was very close to Sonia Gandhi and Sheila Dikshit and then convince people to buy off him.''
Read more: 'Holy' man, son held for selling ivory and tiger skin - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Holy-man-son-held-for-selling-ivory-and-tiger-skin/articleshow/6831660.cms#ixzz140VNpKNN
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