Four smugglers were arrested and sent to court with red sand boa in Choral Range on Thursday. They were sent on remand.
The team of State Tiger Strike Force (STSF) from Indore division reached the spot to arrest the smugglers.
Forest department team and STSF team were informed by local range officer. The four smugglers had captured the red sand boa from outskirts of the city and were planning to sell it for a good amount.
Considered to be one of the most harmless snakes, sand boas are captured due to the superstition that they possess supernatural power.
This is mainly attributed to its ‘double-headed’ appearance for which it is called ‘do muha’ in Hindi. Their appearance has made them a soft target for poaching and illegal trading like owls.
They are used in black magic, and even in the name of esoteric science.
A non-venomous snake, the red sand boa is protected under Schedule IV of the Wild Life Protection Act 1972.
Chief conservator of forest (CCF) HS Mohanta said that the snake had no proven medicinal value and that people were cheated in the name of black magic by tantrics, some of who even promised showers of money.
Officials running awareness programs in villages often quote ‘If the snakes were to make us rich or powerful, then I guess all the forest officers should be millionaires as we tend to come across boa snakes almost on a daily basis’.
On Wednesday, some sources informed the forest official about illegal smuggling of red sand boa in Choral range. The local forest team led by forest ranger Ravi Kumar Jain reached the spot in the range and caught the three smugglers red-handed.
The four smugglers were later identified. The first smuggler is named Arjun who is son of Rasmay Gine. He is known to be a local Choral resident as of now.
Another accused smuggler was Chagan, son of Sewaram. He along with Ranjeet son of Hari Singh, was arrested from Choral Dham area. According to forest officials, Chagan and Ranjeet are Bengali doctors.
The fourth accused was Santosh son of Gurudutt Rai. He is a resident of Mhow.
The four were smuggling the snake to get money in exchange.
During interrogation, the smugglers shared that they had managed to catch them from the forest.
The smugglers were kept in the Choral range overnight. On asking, the accused confessed that they were going to sell it for one and a half lakhs. SDO AK Srivastava also reached on Thursday morning.
The team of State Tiger Strike Force (STSF) from Indore division reached the spot to arrest the smugglers.
Forest department team and STSF team were informed by local range officer. The four smugglers had captured the red sand boa from outskirts of the city and were planning to sell it for a good amount.
Considered to be one of the most harmless snakes, sand boas are captured due to the superstition that they possess supernatural power.
This is mainly attributed to its ‘double-headed’ appearance for which it is called ‘do muha’ in Hindi. Their appearance has made them a soft target for poaching and illegal trading like owls.
They are used in black magic, and even in the name of esoteric science.
A non-venomous snake, the red sand boa is protected under Schedule IV of the Wild Life Protection Act 1972.
Chief conservator of forest (CCF) HS Mohanta said that the snake had no proven medicinal value and that people were cheated in the name of black magic by tantrics, some of who even promised showers of money.
Officials running awareness programs in villages often quote ‘If the snakes were to make us rich or powerful, then I guess all the forest officers should be millionaires as we tend to come across boa snakes almost on a daily basis’.
On Wednesday, some sources informed the forest official about illegal smuggling of red sand boa in Choral range. The local forest team led by forest ranger Ravi Kumar Jain reached the spot in the range and caught the three smugglers red-handed.
The four smugglers were later identified. The first smuggler is named Arjun who is son of Rasmay Gine. He is known to be a local Choral resident as of now.
Another accused smuggler was Chagan, son of Sewaram. He along with Ranjeet son of Hari Singh, was arrested from Choral Dham area. According to forest officials, Chagan and Ranjeet are Bengali doctors.
The fourth accused was Santosh son of Gurudutt Rai. He is a resident of Mhow.
The four were smuggling the snake to get money in exchange.
During interrogation, the smugglers shared that they had managed to catch them from the forest.
The smugglers were kept in the Choral range overnight. On asking, the accused confessed that they were going to sell it for one and a half lakhs. SDO AK Srivastava also reached on Thursday morning.