Wildlife case transferred to CBI

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4: In a rare occurrence, a wildlife case, relating to the biggest-ever case of wildlife seizure in Khaga in Fatehpur dist...

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4: In a rare occurrence, a wildlife case, relating to the biggest-ever case of wildlife seizure in Khaga in Fatehpur district and the Ghaziabad catch in December, has been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In January, the police had recovered 70 leopard skins, four tiger skins, 220 blackbuck skins and 18,000 leopard nails and bones from the house of Shabbir Husain in Khaga.

With CBI coming into the picture, the investigation, which was suffering because of lack of coordination between the police and the forest department, is expected to get a boost.

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The decision was taken because it was felt that the case has wider ramifications. "The magnitude of the problem and the inter-state linkages makes it a fit case for the CBI," said S C Sharma, Inspector General, Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Investigations done by the police so far have revealed that not just UP, from where the recovery was made, but others like states like Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal and Delhi were part of the larger picture.

The Khaga seizure came barely a month after the Ghaziabad one where tiger and leopard skins with signatures were recovered from a truck going to Siliguri. Both these cases together seem to point to organised and well-established trade routes.

In the Khaga case, out of the 11 accused, seven are in judicial custody and five are absconding. One of the arrested, Jaibun Isa, the wife of main accused, Shabbir Hussain, was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court. She was residing in the same house from where Hussain was operating his tannery. She had been refused bail by the session and district court earlier.

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According to wildlife officials in Fatehpur, the leads were difficult to follow as they often led beyond the boundaries of UP. Shabbir’s brother of resides in Delhi.

"Now, the next step is to empower the CBI with powers under Section 55 of the Wildlife Protection Act which would give them power to prosecute," said Ashok Kumar from the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI).

The reason for apprehension is the low conviction rate. With weak prosecution lawyers, the accused often go scot free.

Now, the challenge in front of the CBI is to get to the real kingpins. People like Shabbir Hussain are just one of the instruments and the case requires meticulous investigation to reveal the real people. "Only when important people are put in the net will the purpose be solved," said Sharma.