Blackbuck skin, horns worth ₹3 lakh seized in Mumbai, 1 arrested

Unit 7 of Mumbai Police’s crime branch arrested a 36-year-old man on Wednesday for illegally selling the skin of a blackbuck worth ₹3 lakh.

Unit 7 of Mumbai Police’s crime branch arrested a 36-year-old man on Wednesday for illegally selling the skin of a blackbuck worth ₹3 lakh.

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The arrest was made near Ghatkopar bus depot after the crime branch received information on the accused carrying the skin and intending to sell it, said a police officer part of the team that nab the accused.

“On verifying the information received, our team of officers along with forest officials went to the bus depot and found the accused John Sundarrao Yesamala, a Sewri resident, carrying a black bag with the blackbuck skin and horns estimated to be worth ₹3 lakh,” the officer said. Yesamala allegedly bought the skin from Kalyan and was trying to sell it for ₹10 lakh. He added, “Since the accused did not have license to sell the skin, a case was filed under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 at Pantnagar police station.”

Predominantly herbivorous animals, the Indian Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) can be identified by black and white fur and is listed as an endangered animal by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) owing to poaching and habitat destruction. The animal is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The financial capital recorded the highest number of offences under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 in 2019 among 19 major Indian cities for the second consecutive year, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Four cases under the WPA were recorded in 2019.

Milind Bharambe, joint commissioner of police (crime) said, “We are vigilant about any crime related to wildlife and environment. Any kind of poaching, trophy hunting or skin sale of animals is being taken with utmost seriousness and such offences will not be tolerated.”