Trio arrested for trying to sell skull, antlers of endangered deer in Andheri

During interrogation, the three accused told the police that the deer’s decomposed body was spotted by Barap near a stream by his village a couple of months ago. It seemed like the deer died after consuming some plastic litter left behind. He cleaned up the bones that he could find and kept them.

MUMBAI: Three men have been arrested in Andheri, for allegedly trying to sell the skull and antlers of an endangered species of deer ‘Sambar’ in the open market, on Tuesday.

The police immediately dispatched a team to the location and found the three men and recovered remains of the deer valued ₹20 lakh in the open market. (HT Photo)

The accused, Manoj Barap, 24, living in Navapada, Harsh Dube, 22, and Ashitosh Suryavanshi, 22, residents of Kajupada in Borivali.

The police team received a tip-off received by Rakesh Pawar, assistant police inspector. “His informants told him about a few men trying to sell the skull and antlers of a Sambar deer at Gulmohar Cross Road in Andheri,” said Shashikant Mane, informed assistant commissioner of police for DN Nagar division. “We immediately dispatched a team to the location and found the three men and recovered remains of the deer valued ₹20 lakh in the open market.”

During interrogation, the three accused told the police that the deer’s decomposed body was spotted by Barap near a stream by his village a couple of months ago. “It seemed like the deer died after consuming some plastic litter left behind. He cleaned up the bones that he could find and kept them. He then told his friends about the discovery and said such things could fetch a very high price from the right collector,” said an official.

After searching on the internet, the trio realised they could earn big through the skull and antlers as many rich people liked to adorn their walls with such “artefacts”. Suryavanshi then took the responsibility to look for the right buyer, said the police.

However, before the sale could go through, the police caught them. The trio was booked under sections 9, 39, 48A, 49B, and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act and are currently in police custody.