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Olympian shooter’s appeal against conviction in poaching case denied
The then newly elected president of Punjab Rifle Shooting Association was convicted on May 23, 2017, and let off on one-year probation a week later.
The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday dismissed the appeal of Olympian shooter and Arjuna awardee Gurbir Singh Sandhu, 67, against his conviction in a poaching case.
The then newly elected president of Punjab Rifle Shooting Association was convicted on May 23, 2017, and let off on one-year probation a week later.
The former international trap shooter was convicted for possessing tusks of wild boar without a licence under the Wildlife (Protection) Act. The court had also imposed a fine of ₹20,000 on him and he was released on submitting a surety bond of Rs 1 lakh.
The CBI had raided Sandhu’s rented flat in Sector 39 in October 2016 following a complaint, and seized a pair of sambar horns and 33 wild boar tusks along with other incriminating material like four video cassettes, 151 photographs and 12 rolls of negatives (allegedly containing shooting adventures). Sandhu could not give a declaration of eight wild boar tusks.
Son’s name was dropped
Sandhu’s son Manavjit Singh, also an Olympian and Arjuna awardee, was booked in the case but the CBI had dropped his name from the chargesheet as no case was made out against him.
Following the case, the UT wildlife department had also conducted an inquiry in which it was concluded that it was a case of poaching under the Wildlife Act.
In August last year, Sandhu appealed against the order in the special court here. He had stated that only eight of the 33 tusks were not declared and it was not required under the amnesty scheme. However, court did not find any merit in his appeal.
