NILGIRIS: Officials of the Nilgiris forest division apprehended two tribal persons for attempting to sell tiger claws and teeth. Upon initial inquiry, the accused confessed they lifted the parts from a decomposed tiger carcass lying near a stream in Mulligoor reserve forest two months ago.
On Friday, forest officials visited the spot and conducted a postmortem examination of the carcass in the presence of DFO S Gowtham. “The accused have confessed they did not use a hammer or knife to retrieve the parts, since the carcass had already decomposed.
We suspect the animal could have died of natural causes, as it seems to be over 10 years old. Parts of the animal were consumed by other creatures,” the DFO noted. The accused, B Lakshman (41) and Chandran (54) of Melkundha village, belong to the Kurumba tribe.
Five claws and teeth were seized from them. A case was registered against the accused under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and they were remanded in judicial custody on Saturday. Sources said this is the accused’s first wildlife offence.