Deer skins seized in Lucknow
Lucknow:
Uttar Pradesh police have seized three Cheetal (spotted deer) skins
worth Rs.6 lakhs (13,636 dollars) from Lucknow,the state capital, and
arrested two persons in connection with it. "We had received information
through a source about these two men smuggling Cheetal skin. We nabbed
them near the Gomti Barrage and seized three Cheetal skins from their
possession. Three mobile phones have also seized from their possession,"
said Manoj Panth, a police official. The men were allegedly carrying the
skins from Bahraich, a town bordering Nepal, to Mumbai to handover them
to a smuggler dealing in animal skins. India and Nepal share a 1400-kilometre
open border, serving as an easy escape route for smugglers. However, one
of the accused Rajendra Prasad claimed that he was only a carrier in the
trade. "I was supposed to carry the skins to Hazratganj in Mumbai, where
I had to handover the skins to a man. I don't know anything about the
trade and I used to be paid for carrying the skins," Prasad said. The
rare species of Cheetal is the most familiar and beautiful of the nine
species of deer found in India. Its population has declined drastically.
The steep decline is mainly due to poaching and loss or modification of
its habitat for cultivation or tree plantations.
- Feb 7, 2006
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