In a major catch, the Delhi Police have arrested dreaded poacher Suraj Pal, alias Chacha, and his two aides. Wanted in several cases and absconding for over 20 years, Suraj Pal was arrested from Adarsh Nagar in North West Delhi while his associates were apprehended from Najibabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Skulls, teeth, claws and bones of tigers were recovered from them. Police suspect the big game gang was active in Jim Corbett and Rajaji National Parks.
“The accused have been identified as Suraj Pal, 65, Suraj Bhan, 28, alias Sarju and Naresh, 32, alias lala. The recovered tiger skull, bones, claws and teeth are worth several crores in international markets. Bhan and Pal are notorious old-timers indulging in the illegal sale and supply of derivatives of endangered animals under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The duo has been in this trade for many years,” said Ravindra Yadav, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch).
He said that they had received a tip off regarding Sarju indulging in the illegal trading of leopard and tiger skins. On further development, it was revealed that Sarju and his father Daliya used to be poachers for Sansar Chand. Sansar Chand is a notorious criminal and currently behind bars for violating provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. After the arrest of Sansar Chand in 2005, this gang became the most active and notorious in this field as they had no arch rival. Teams, including those from the Forest Conservative Department (Maharashtra) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (Delhi), were on the lookout for Sarju. An input was received that Sarju, along with Naresh, would be coming with derivatives of endangered animals. The duo was apprehended at Chandgi Ram Akhara traffic T-point.
During interrogation, they revealed that they had purchased these derivatives from a Gujjar herdsman, who is a resident of Nagina in Uttar Pradesh. Nagina lies in the foothills below Uttarakhand and is adjacent to and right in between the two major National parks and tiger reserves of Jim Corbett and Rajaji National Parks. They further disclosed that they were lured by Suraj Pal, who resides in Adarsh Nagar, to bring skin and derivatives of tigers. At the instance of the arrested people, Suraj Pal was arrested from his residence and `50 lakh in cash and tiger claws were recovered from there.
Suraj Pal has been running this network and has his tentacles spread all over India, including Maharashtra, Haryana, Sonepat, Madhya Pradesh and various States in South India. His sources of supply are from the poachers of denotified tribe belonging to different villages of Sonepat, Haryana and other parts of India. Suraj Pal was initiated into this crime by Khalique Hussain and was known for his contacts with about 50-60 families of Rathdhana in Sonepat and other villages, who hunted animals for him. He has been arrested for the first time. “His network of poachers and smugglers is spread all over India and is the biggest and strongest in this field. Even in terms of trading, Chacha is rated as the best supplier of tiger skins, all over India. This was revealed during Sansar Chand’s interrogation many years ago,” said a police official.
The poachers used to offer poisoned domestic fowl as prey to lure tigers. Tigers died within a radius of 6-10 km. The poachers kept an eagle eye over the cat and would take it to a cordoned area to peel its skin off and extract all the derivatives. Before smuggling their hides, the poachers dried and used preservatives. These products are mostly in demand in China and the Far East.
A taxidermy mount of a big cat fetches several crores in international markets. The poachers have inter-State contacts. They are also involved in several cases of wildlife poaching and smuggling in Maharashtra. Two cases have been registered this year at Amrawati and Nagpur in Maharashtra. Malghat Sanctuary is reportedly plagued by poaching.