Karnataka forest dept official arrested for possession of tiger claw pendant

The Karnataka Forest Department on Friday suspended the Deputy Range Forest Officer DRFO of Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru district and arrested him for allegedly possessing a tiger claw pendant officials saidThe action was taken following an official complaint lodged by activists Supreeth and Abdul Khader against Darshan Kumar the DRFO after a purported photo of him wearing a tiger claw pendant surfaced on social media platforms Later he deleted those photosA case has been registered against him DRFO and it is being investigated He has been suspended and taken into custody and interrogation is going on Whatever comes out in the probe will be submitted to the court a senior forest official told PTIState Environment and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said a forest official wearing a tiger claw pendant is an unpardonable offence and strict action will be takenMeanwhile a team of senior forest officials visited the house of Karnataka Minister for Women and Child Development Laxshmi Hebbalkar after images of her son Mrinal Hebbalkar allegedly wearing a tiger claw pendant went viral on social media platformsThe team seized the pendant which will be sent for forensic examination to verify if its a genuine one officials saidLater Hebbalkar clarified to the media that the alleged tiger claw pendant worn by her son was actually made of plasticOfficials had comeiquestIt is actually plastic It was gifted to him her son during his wedding Earlier also when he was young he had one which was made of plastic brought from KhanapurWhere are you going to get the real one these days Officials will anyway investigate itiquestI am holding a responsible position Law is equal for everyoneLets all work towards protecting the lives of our national animal she told reporters here in BelagaviAs part of the ongoing probe two priests in Khandya village of Mysuru were arrested for allegedly possessing tiger claw pendants the forest official saidOne of the priests of a temple in Khandya village was nabbed with a tiger claw pendant Based on his disclosure we arrested another priest who was also found to be in possession of a pendant with a tiger claw When interrogated he admitted it to our officials The two were taken into custody and produced before the magistrate However they were granted bail he saidBoth the tiger claw pendants have been seized from them he addedMeanwhile Varthur Santosh a contestant of Bigg Boss Kannada reality show who was arrested from the sets of the show on Sunday for allegedly wearing a tiger claw pendant and was subsequently sent to 14 days judicial custody was on Friday granted bail by a court here according to the forest departmentForest Minister Eshwar Khandre said that the government is planning to give two months time to those in possession of such wildlife articles to return them to the forest departmentEarlier in 2003 the government had provided an opportunity for 180 days six months for those keeping or using such things traditionally or keeping them as trophies to declare In the same way there are plans to give them two months time to return The plan is to implement it strictly after spreading awareness about the law The government will take the final decision after discussing with legal experts he saidIn the wake of many complaints of people having wildlife artefacts the forest department on the direction of the Forest Minister formed a special task force STF to look into them as well as the status of past cases relating to themKhandre had said the law of the land is applicable to all without any discrimination and the government will act as per the lawThe STF would also suggest measures to create public awareness and would submit a comprehensive report on the steps to be taken to prevent the sale of products and items made from any part of wild animals including tiger claws and its teethKhandre has directed the STF to submit a report within a week about the cases complaints registered since the Wildlife Protection Act came into force the action taken under the law and the steps to be taken in the cases currently registered and being registeredThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever