Delhi court convicts Shahtoosh shawl trader in wildlife crime case
A Delhi court convicted a Jaipur art gallery owner for attempting to illegally export Shahtoosh wool shawls, made from the underfur of the critically endangered Tibetan Antelope, in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, an Environment ministry official said on Wednesday. The chief judicial magistrate at Rouse Avenue District Courts delivered the judgment against Syed Shahid Ahmed Kashani, owner of Indian Art Gallery, Jaipur, on March 12, bringing to a close a case that surfaced in December 2008.
“The Tibetan Antelope, locally known as Chiru, is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and its trade is strictly prohibited under domestic law. The Shahtoosh shawl trade has also been banned globally since 1975 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which India is a signatory,” said an official.
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) identified 1,290 Shahtoosh shawls in an export consignment at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, and subsequently filed a complaint with the CBI’s Economic Offences Unit-V (EOU-V) in February 2009.
A forensic examination by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, confirmed traces of Tibetan Antelope underfur in 41 shawls after two rounds of testing. In the first round, they found five shawls with traces of Tibetan Antelope underfur and 36 more in further testing.
“The accused had stated that he bought only machine-made Pashmina from a Delhi seller and that he was not involved in any wrongdoing. His lawyers questioned the field examination, tests, and evidence handling. But the court turned down all points and upheld the WII reports,” said the official.
The accused was sentenced to three years of imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 under Section 49B(1)/51(1A) of the Wildlife Protection Act, and an additional two years each concurrently under Sections 40 and 49 of the Act.
