New Delhi : Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) congratulates the Crime Branch of Delhi Police for the arrest of Sansar Chand . After being twice convicted and giving the slip for the last two decades, the notorious smuggler of wildlife, Sansar Chand was arrested by the Crime Branch near Prashant Vihar in Delhi today.

Senior Advisor and Trustee of WTI Ashok Kumar , who has been on Sansar Chand’s trail for the last two decades was exhilarated at hearing the news when contacted in Geneva, where he is attending a conference. “This news has certainly made my day, and is the best news on enforcement in a long time”.

The oldest case in Delhi which is ongoing since 1988 has Sansar Chand as an accused. Tiger skins are a part of that seizure. Yet biggest is the 1993 seizure in Delhi which netted 6 tiger skins, nearly 280 kg tiger bones and 43 leopard skins apart from a truck load of other skins has Sansar Chand as the accused.

He has not been appearing in court for the hearing of his appeal against a punishment of five years rigorous imprisonment awarded to him by an Ajmer court on 29 th April, 2004. Lawyers of Wildlife Trust of India have been assisting the trial court which had awarded him the 5 year sentence and the appellate court at Ajmer. The names of WTI lawyer Mahender Singh Kachchawa and Trustee Ashok Kumar appear on page 6 in the 126 page judgement. Since then WTI lawyers have been appearing in the appeal but Sansar Chand had stopped appearing for the hearings. Sansar Chand is also wanted in an on going case in Jaipur in which his wife Rani and son Akash were arrested and have not been given bail for nearly 8 months.

The court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) at Tis Hazari had also issued non-bailable warrants against the notorious wildlife trader in four cases pending against him on 21st May 2005 . The cases related to his involvement in wildlife offences starting from 1988 to 1996. There are on going cases against him in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Haridwar in which Ashok Kumar is a witness.

The law calls for a compulsory sentence of a minimum of three years which can go upto 7 years for repeated offences against a Schedule I species. Sansar Chand has been known for his affinity to smuggling Schedule I species in the form of tiger skins, bones, nails, leopard skins, black buck skin among other protected species like desert fox, jungle cat, snakes, crocodiles, otters, etc.

Says Ashok Kumar , “Sansar Chand should not be allowed bail anymore lest he absconds again, and all the trials in which he is the accused should be tried expeditiously. To begin with, his bail should be cancelled by the Ajmer court and he should be made to begin serving the sentence. A lawyer of WTI will make such a plea to the court.”

Among the 30-odd ongoing cases against Sansar Chand in various courts, lawyers from the Wildlife Trust of India have been appearing in several cases in Delhi, Haridwar, Ajmer and Jaipur to assist prosecution and provide legal inputs in the form of knowledge of orders passed against him in other courts. Notable among these are the four cases State vs Sansar Chand and others which are being heard in the court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi . Another case Lakwinder Singh vs. Pema and others, in which 43 leopard skins, 6 tiger skins and 26 skins of tiger cubs along with tiger bones and claws and skins of many other Schedule I animals were recovered is also being closely monitored by WTI lawyers.

With his arrest one of the main players in this illegal trade is now in the net. We must not however forget that there are many others in this trade, including the members of his family, and we must not also forget the carriers of wildlife goods who buy from likes of Sansar Chand and smuggle them out of the country.