New Delhi: The Court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Special Act) Dig Vinay Singh today, under strict conditions, granted bail to the Kashmir Government Arts Emporium Manager, who was arrested last week in the Indian capital for trade in banned shahtoosh shawls.

The accused, Mushtaq Ahmed Mufti, was arrested on December 3, following an undercover operation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), assisted by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). Three shahtoosh shawls were recovered.

Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, WTI, said, “The accused was trying to sell the three shawls to a decoy customer for 10,000 US Dollars! One of the shawls was pure white (at a price tag of 4000 USD) and is among the finest that I have ever seen. These white shahtoosh shawls are more expensive than others as the wool is extracted exclusively from a small band of white running from chin to underbelly in Tibetan antelopes.”

The court granted the bail following the defence plea that the accused is a ‘government employee, and that he will not abscond.’ The preconditions set by the court for the bail includes surrender of the accused’s passport within two days to the Investigating Officer of the CBI. The accused has been forbid to leave the country without prior permission from the court, and has been ordered not to contact witnesses of the case or tamper with evidence. The accused has also been asked to furnish two reliable sureties of Rs 30,000 each.

“The accused will be released on bail only after satisfactorily meeting the conditions laid down by the court,” said Saurabh Sharma, WTI lawyer who attended the bail plea hearing.