Black buck skin seized, one held
City police on Tuesday nabbed a person for possessing black bucks’ skin and a gang of seven persons, when they were trying to sell elephant tusks make of plaster of paris and cement, in separate instances.
In the first instance, Task Force sleuths caught Mogili Nandulal (53), a resident of Rasoolpura, when he was trying to sell two Black Buck skins, more popularly known as Krishna Jinka. He wanted `2 lakh for the skin of the state animal.
Confessing before the cops, Nandulal said he had stolen the skins from a car parked at Begumpet. “He was passing though the lorry parking area of Begumpet when he found a car. He peeped into it and saw a plastic bag lying inside. Taking advantage of the darkness, he took away the bag and later, when he opened it, found two Black Buck skins in it,” additional DCP P Rameshaiah said.
Black Buck’s skin fetches a good amount as people, apart from displaying it as a decorative item at homes, believe it to have divine powers and therefore, sit on it while performing poojas.
The skins were examined by assistant director of veterinary under guidance of the curator of the Nehru Zoological Park. It was confirmed that they were original Black Buck skins.
Possession, sale, transportation of the animal or its skin is prohibited and punishable under the Wildlife Protection Act - 1972.
In the second incident, a gang of seven persons, who tried to sell fake Elephant tusks, were caught and the tusks were seized from them. On information, Task Force sleuths caught Sriram Ram, M Beerappa, D Sandeep Kumar, P Purushotham Reddy, M Suresh Kumar, P Vijay Kumar and M Vijay Kumar.
Suresh and Vijay are managers in Ing Insurance. One Syed Jahangir, a resident of Golconda who prepared the tusks out of plaster of paris and cement, is absconding.