Chhapra. In Chhapra, Bihar, the Forest Department team raided a grocery store and recovered many prohibited items including skins of tiger and deer and snake skin. In this case, the team has arrested two shopkeepers. These banned items have been recovered from two shopkeepers named Ranjit Kumar and Akash Kumar Gupta. After interrogating both of them, the police arrested them and sent them to jail. This is the biggest raid in Bihar in recent times. Pieces of tiger skin, tiger claws, turtle shell, porcupine thorn, skin of various snakes, antelope horns have been found in it.
Many wildlife items recovered
Saran Forest Divisional Officer Ramsundar M said that action has been taken on the basis of secret information. The Forest Department raided the shops of Ranjit Kumar and Akash Gupta at Mauna Chowk under the leadership of Ranger Banke Paswan and other forest guards. Many wildlife items have been recovered from there. Their trade is prohibited under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, Indian Forest Act-1927 and Biological Diversity Act-2002. The DFO said that investigations are on to trace the source of supply and network of trade of these illegal wildlife items.
FIR lodged against both the shopkeepers
The shopkeepers have termed this action of the forest department as wrong and have also accused an NGO involved in the raid of blackmail. But the Forest Department, while justifying this entire action, has said that the Forest Department has recovered banned goods from the spot. The Forest Department says that an FIR has been registered against both the accused shopkeepers under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, Indian Forest Act-1927 and Biological Diversity Act-2002. He said that after investigation, a report will be sent to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and the Chief Wildlife Warden of Bihar to find out the linkage.
