Transporting animal trophies

Two from Mysuru among four arrested in Bengaluru

Two from Mysuru among four arrested in BengaluruFour persons including two from Mysuru were arrested by the Bengaluru Police for allegedly trying to illegally sell mounted trophies of tigers and a leopard. The Police have estimated the price of the seized trophies to be around Rs. 2 crore.

The Police have also seized matador vehicle and a car that were being used by the accused to transport the valuables. The Police have recovered three stuffed tigers (one big and two small) and one black panther, which are alleged to have been obtained from a businessman in Mysuru. The accused are K.V. Arun Kumar, Jagadish, Ashwin Ramaswamy and Rajashekhar. A case has been filed at the Shankarpuram Police Station in Bengaluru.

A case of missing Transport Permit?

Though the Police have claimed that the trophies were meant for illegal sale, sources told Star of Mysore that the trophies were owned by a businessman based in Mysuru and he has all necessary legal documents to prove ownership.

Reportedly, every year the businessman sends the trophies to Bengaluru for cleaning and this time too he sent them for cleaning. As the businessman was not in station, his staff took the trophies to Bengaluru along with the ownership certificate but they were unaware that a permit was required to transport the trophies from one place to another, sources said.

On their way, the vehicle that was transporting the trophies was stopped by Shankarpuram Police for routine check.

On asking for documents, the businessman’s staff produced the ownership certificate but they did not produce the permit letter to transport the  trophies. This led the Police to suspect that the trophies were being transported for illegal trade and a case was booked, sources added.

This post was published on March 7, 2017 6:56 pm