Surat: Forest officials have arrested three people in Ushkar village of Surat district and recovered suspicious tiger skin from them. The trio were dipping the skin in water to check whether it was genuine or not and were looking for a buyer to sell it for Rs 5 lakh.
Forest officials got the skin tested by a government veterinary officer, who said the skin was that of an animal and it looked similar to the skin of a tiger. However, the official suggested a test from Wildlife Institute of IndiaDehradun for confirmation. The skin samples will be sent to WII by the Forest Department.
The three arrested have been identified as Jetha Jahan. satiya (25), Dhiru Sama Gamit (54), and Raju Gamit (38). They were nabbed from Satiya’s house. The accused were produced in a local court on Friday and sent to judicial custody.
“Tiger is a protected animal under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act and trading in any part of its body is a punishable offence. During investigation of another crime related to wildlife in Vyara, details of these accused were found and we arrested them,” said a forest official. Satiya told the forest officials that she had bought the skins for Rs 2 lakh and that she has not paid the person yet.
He was planning to sell the skins for Rs 5 lakh and the other two accused were helping him in locating the buyers. He wanted to get commission.
After purchasing the skins, the accused tested it by immersing it in water. “They were told by the seller that it was original. The accused do not know from where the skins reached Surat.” The supplier of the hide has been identified and the forest officials will arrest him soon.
In the past, the police had recovered suspicious skin of a tiger in the city. But during the tests, it was confirmed that the skin was of a cow and the stripes were painted black. ,
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