| |
The Khaga
Cat Skin Seizure
1999 and 2000 have been
particularly severe on wildlife in India. Authorities have stumbled upon several
caches of big-cat skins and other derivatives - either during transit or at various stages
of shipment. What is worrisome is that most of these seizures were not results of
organised investigative operations, but were chance happenings. We can but hope that this
does not lend credence to the fear that many such shipments may have actually reached
their destinations successfully & unnoticed...
The seizures which led to a Khaga, a small town near
Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, revealed a thriving illicit industry engaged in tanning of
skins and preparation of other wildlife derivatives. The raids on Khaga were organised and
somewhat collaborative, but not without the usual inter-departmental rancour and
contradictions.
- Environment
Investigation Agency (EIA) conducted a post-operation study of the Khaga
seizure, excerpts from which are being posted on this site. I am thankful to Peter Richardson of EIA for according me permission to make use of the contents of the
study.
-
-
The
Report
Executive
Summary
In January 2000, police seized 4
tiger skins, 70 leopard skins, 221 blackbuck skins,
18,000 leopard claws, 150 kgs of leopard and tiger
bones, 132 tiger claws, 2 leopard teeth and one dried
leopard penis from private properties in Khaga in the
North Indian State of Uttar Pradesh.
This seizure is one the largest
hauls of illegal wildlife products ever recorded in
India, indicating a scale and level of organisation
within the illegal trade that has shocked Indian
authorities and conservation NGO's.
The seizure confirms the need in
India for a permanent, highly organised and
well-resourced federal investigation and enforcement
body with international counterparts, to fight
wildlife crime because:
- the investigations following
the seizure indicate that wildlife trade is
occurring across both state and national borders,
- the expertly processed and
high quality skins were almost certainly destined
for a lucrative, but as yet undetermined,
international market,
- the skins were seized from
premises situated only 200 metres from the police
station. The subsequent investigation was hampered
by local politics and acute rivalries between the
local enforcement agencies which led to a marked
lack of cooperation,
- the efficacy of the
investigations was further impeded by a lack of
basic investigative resources and procedures (e.g.
forensic tests).
Finally, 4 weeks after the
seizure - when many leads would have gone cold - the
Government of India decided to hand the investigation
of this case to the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI).
Introduction
On the 18.12.1999 sales tax
inspectors at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
inadvertently uncovered and seized 3 tiger skins, 50
leopard skins and 5 otter skins. The skins were
meticulously packaged, numbered and concealed in a
consignment of cloth in a truck bound for Siliguri,
West Bengal.
Less than one month later,
following information provided by TRAFFIC India, the
Fatehpur District police seized a large stock of body
parts of leopard, tiger and blackbuck from premises in
the town of Khaga, UP on the 12.01.2000. This was
followed by yet another police raid on the 15.01.2000
in the nearby village of Eatgaon, which resulted in
the seizure of 150 kgs of leopard and tiger bone. In
early February more leopard skins were seized from
another property in Khaga.
|
|
|
The
Khaga seizure constitutes one of the largest
hauls of illegal wildlife products since the
Indian Wildlife Protection Act was passed in
1972. The scale and level of organisation
within the illegal wildlife trade as
indicated by these seizures has shocked the
Indian authorities and conservation NGO's. |
EIA
Research Objectives
Following the press coverage of
the Khaga seizure an EIA team carried out a study in
Delhi as well as Allahabad, Lucknow, Fatehpur and
Khaga in Uttar Pradesh during January and February
2000. The team's objectives were:
- To obtain a first hand
account of events surrounding the Khaga seizure
through interviews with some of the key
individuals involved.
- To obtain leads pertaining to
international trade connections.
The
Interviews
During the investigation the EIA
team conducted the following interviews with
conservationists, NGO staff as well as local and
state-level representatives of the enforcement
agencies involved:
- Mr Brijendra Singh, Honorary
Wildlife Warden and member of the Indian Board for
Wildlife, 22.01.2000.
- Mr B K P Sinha, Chief
Conservator of Forests (CCF), Eastern Region,
01.2000.
- Mr Vikram Singh, Inspector
General, police Special Task Force Northern
region, 24.01.2000.
- Mr Naresh Dayal, Principal
Secretary to Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
and Mr Arun Mishra, Secretary to Chief Minister
UP, 24.01.2000.
- Mr Abdul Samid, Circular
Officer Khaga, Fatehpur District Police, 01.2000.
- Mr Maha Bir Prasad,
Superintendent of Police, Fatehpur District Police
(SSP), 25.01.2000.
- Mr KM Thakur, Divisional
Forestry Officer (DFO), Fatehpur, 25.01.2000.
- Dr RL Singh, Chief Wildlife
Warden (CWLW), UP, 26.01.2000.
- Mr Manoj Misra, Director
TRAFFIC India, 02.02.2000.
- Mr KN Singh, Inspector of
Wildlife, Delhi and Mr Shyamal Tikadar, Joint
Director, Project Tiger, 03.02.2000.
- Mr KM Thakur, DFO Fatehpur,
telephone conversation, 04.02.2000.
- Mr PK Sen, Director, Project
Tiger, Ministry of Environment and Forests,
telephone conversation 17.02.2000
The full text of
these interviews appears in this report.
Report
1 | Report 2 | Interviews
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
