BHOPAL: At least two crocodiles were reportedly rescued by the state forest department from ponds in the sprawling residential premises of ex-BJP MLA Harvansh Singh Rathore in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district.
Head of state forest force (HoFF) Aseem Srivastava, while confirming the development, told the press on Friday, that a case has been registered in the matter under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. If the crocodiles are found healthy, they’ll be released (in a natural water body), but if their health isn’t found satisfactory, they’ll be kept in the care of the forest department. Further action in the matter will be taken in accordance with the competent court’s directions, the forest officer said.
The rescue was undertaken a few days after the income tax department searched the residential premises of the family, which has been associated with the ruling BJP for decades.
The family, headed by ex-BJP MLA Harvansh Singh Rathore, lives in palatial bungalows located on the outskirts of Sagar city. According to sources, the sprawling residential campus has multiple ponds, where the two crocodiles were kept.
The forest department acted on the matter after the presence of crocodiles was reported during the IT searches.
Recently, IT department teams had searched residential premises of two BJP-associated families in Sagar district, including the Rathore family and the Kesharwani family, which have close business connections.
The families have been engaged for the longest time in the ‘beedi’ (Indian cigarette) business, but forayed into the real estate sector in recent years.
As per IT department sources in Bhopal, “Searches at the Kesharwani and Rathore family premises have led to seizure of incriminating documents suggesting suspected tax evasion worth around `150 crore. Of this, around Rs 140 crore suspected tax evasion is linked to the Kesharwani group, while the remaining is related to the Rathore family’s businesses.