Trimbakeshwar, October 23, 2013: Two persons from a nomadic tribe were arrested with 21 leopard claws from Trimbakeshwar near Nasik in Central India, last Saturday, by the Maharashtra Forest Department, assisted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) team.

Two men were arrested with 21 leopard claws
Photo: IFAW/WTI

The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. They have been remanded to police custody till October 20 by a Sessions Court in Nasik.

Information had been obtained from local sources about some members of the Baheliya (aka phasa Pardhi locally) tribe in possession of wildlife articles. This was immediately conveyed to the State Forest Wildlife Division and the Regional Forest Unit.

 “We had obtained some information about a group of Baheliya tribespeople camping in Trimbakeshwar, possessing leopard claws,” said the IFAW-WTI operative who passed on the info to the authorities.

 An investigation team was dispatched by the Deputy Conservator of Forests – Anita Patil. The group in Trimbakeshwar was put under surveillance. The team found that three members of the group possessed around 21 leopard claws, and were strategically looking for buyers.

 An operation was carried out. Two persons – Dhyaneshwar Bhagwan Bhosale (35) and Tulashi Dhyaneshwar Bhosale (20) were apprehended, while one escaped and is still absconding.

“Soon after the arrest, all members of the group that had camped in the area disappeared without a trace,” the operative added.  

The average size of the leopard claws seized
Photo: IFAW/WTI

 A few months earlier, in June, the Maharashtra Forest Department had arrested three suspects from the same tribe in Nagpur in connection with a tiger poaching case from a nearby forest. Here too, the tribespeople had camped as nomadic traders, and following the seizure disappeared from the scene.

Whether the entire group was involved in the crime or did they escape from these areas fearing victimisation following these arrests, would be a crucial information to decipher, the operative added.

Following interrogation of the arrested people in Nagpur, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau arrested a trader by the name of Sarju along with his gang as they were smuggling tiger parts from Uttarakhand to New Delhi. The gang was found to be extremely well-connected with various illegal wildlife trader gangs and employing tribespeople in a number of Indian states, and even reaching Nepal.

“We are trying to study a number of things, but indications are that the nexus seems to be strengthening and becoming more complex. We would do well to watch out,” he added.