KOLLAM: V Shaji, hailing from Kollam, was arrested from Navi Mumbai by forest officials on the charge of elephant trading. After a search of four months, the accused was arrested with the help of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (western region) officials.Cases were registered against Shaji based on a YouTube video that went viral in last October, in which he was seen asserting to have traded 200 elephants.
Under the Wildlife (Protection) Act and Kerala Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, as many as five cases were booked against him in Kollam. A police case for fraud based on a complaint from the forest department was also registered against him.
Besides Shaji, some of his close relatives are also accused in the cases.He went absconding soon after the officials found 15 captive elephants in his custody. Another alleged elephant trader and an accused in two cases, M V Prasanth, of Thiruvananthapuram, is still absconding.He was tracked down by the officials after tracing his mobile number.