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Mother-son wildlife trafficking duo arrested from Assam and Meghalaya
The police recovered 7.60gm of pangolin scales and body parts of some other wildlife creatures during the search operation in both states
A mother-son duo, suspected of wildlife trafficking, has been arrested by Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) from Assam and Meghalaya.
According to the STF officials, the mother Rindik Teringpi was arrested from West Karbi Anglong district of Assam, while her son Bidasingh Senar was arrested from Meghalaya’s Shillong on August 16.
The police recovered 7.60gm of pangolin scales and body parts of some other wildlife creatures during the search operation, which was linked with a case of tiger skin and bones recovery in Azara area near Guwahati on June 29.
The duo is part of an Assam-Meghalaya inter-state wildlife trafficking racket, and they were also involved in a June 29 case of smuggling tiger skin and bones, according to the police.
Kalyan Pathak, additional SP of the Assam STF, said four persons were arrested from Azara on June 29 and during investigation, it was found that they were involved in an inter-state poaching and smuggling of animal body parts racket that is active across the country.
“The tiger skin and bones that were recovered in June were transported from Maharashtra and the gang revealed during probe that they poached the big cat in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli,” he said.
Pathak said that considering the well-organised network of smugglers, the case was handed over to WCCB on August 8 this year and the Guwahati bureau registered a case.
“The case was registered under sections 9, 39, 40, 48A, 49B and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. WCCB launched an operation in collaboration with Assam Police STF across the state and surrounding areas,” Pathak said.
The STF coordinated with West Karbi Anglong Police and assisted WCCB in finding and apprehending the lady from Karbi Anglong’s Gita Langkok village first. Following that, the team reached Meghalaya and arrested her son from Shillong, he informed.
According to the initial investigation, the STF found points indicating that the illegal trade of body parts of wild animals is not limited to the Indian territory, but has involvements from outside the border.
The mother-son duo was brought to Guwahati on Thursday afternoon and produced before the court in the evening, which sent them to three days’ WCCB custody.
