Seven Sansar Chands you didn't know

Surojit Mahalanobis / TNN / Jul 5, 2005, 02:28 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

NEW DELHI: Though the notorious kingpin of wildlife poaching in India, Sansar Chand has been caged, there are many Sansar Chands still at large.

NEW DELHI: Though the notorious kingpin of wildlife poaching in India, Sansar Chand has been caged, there are many Sansar Chands still at large and working independently. Examine a list:
TSERING ATUP TAMANG: A Nepalese operating in Indo-Nepal cross-border areas. An FIR 25/2001 at Anwargunj Police Station at Kanpur was lodged after he was arrested with skins of a tiger and 19 leopards, Rs 5 lakh cash and a 9 mm bore pistol.Tamang reportedly killed leopards, even in protected areas as Ranthamhore and Corbett.
Strangely, after a few months in jail, he managed to get a bail. He was arrested again in January 2003, with 12 leopard skins, Rs 4.85 lakh in cash and a mobile phone. Another FIR was filed against him on January 5, 2003 at Quaiserabad Police Station of Lucknow.
Tamang worked independently as well as for Sansar Chand. He showed how Indian wildlife laws, which are stringent of all in the world, can be flouted by wielding money and muscle powers. He also tacitly exposed the lacunae in law enforcement mechanism of India.

GOPAL GURUNG: Another Nepalese conduit and a trader of animal trophies who operates in Bihar, UP and north Bengal borders. Widely believed to have worked with both Tamang and Sansar Chand. Gurung was arrested along with Tamang at Kanpur and the FIR 25/2001 also named him.
PEMA TINLEY: a Tibetan from Manju-ka-Tilla, Delhi was a trusted Sansar Chand associate. From Delhi, Tinley has shifted base to Leh and Ladhakh to avoid police heat. First arrested in a raid in 1993, Pema was named as principal accused in an FIR 257/93 lodged at Civil Lines police station in Delhi.

Mohammad Yakub was...
...named a partner of Tinley in the case. The complaint was filed by Lakhwinder Singh, a former Deputy Director (Wildlife) Preservation, on behalf of the Central government.
From Pema Tinley police recovered 513 skins of leopard, tiger and cubs, otters, black bucks, clouded leopards, fishing cats, civet cats, lizards, hillfoxes with hairs, jungle cats, jackals, cheetals and over 280 kg of tiger bones (used in traditional Chinese medicines) and a few 100 kgs of sheep wool.
Tinley from Indo-Tibetan borders smuggled out the wildlife skins and body parts to traditional Chinese doctors on shahtoosh barter trade terms, which nomads in Tibet traditionally practised. In lieu of these, the Tibetan nomads would hand over to Tinley shahtoosh wool for Jammu and Kashmir weavers.
MOHAMMAD YAKUB: From Delhi, Yakub was also named an associate of Tinley in the FIR 257/93 at Civil Lines police station. He is known to work for both Sansar Chand and Pema Tinley but currently is lying low and not active. He had killed leopards in protected areas of Corbett, Bandhavgarh and Ranthambhore. At Samlakha (Haryana), skins of seven leopards and 18 otters were confiscated by the Haryana police, which were being delivered to Yakub, sources said.
SHABBIR ALI: Based in Satna in MP, he is a notorious poacher-cum-trader. He supplied to Sansar Chand, sources said. He was the principal accused in case no 77/97 at Satna CJM court along with Md Yakub.
MD SHABBIR HASAN QURASHI: He is based in Khaga of Fatehpur (UP), and Md ATTIQULLAH, a Qurashi gangman. In FIR 10/2000 at Khaga police station, near Fatehpur (UP) Qurashi was named the principal accused.
Qurashi had evaded arrest on the...
...January 12, 2000 when 18,000 leopard claws, 132 tiger claws, two leopard teeth, four tiger and 221 black buck skins were seized from him.
Qurashi's father Hazi Ramzan Seith was found possessing the wildlife body parts along with his accomplice Attiqullah, as is shown in the picture, caught at a tanning-cum-stockpile centre near Khaga, with 150 kg of tiger and leopard bones minutes before they were to be sent for smuggling out for China.
It was the biggest ever seizure which sent shivers to the conservation world.
The Khaga raid followed a seizure at a sales tax barrier in Ghaziabad in which skins of three tigers, 50 leopards and
five otters, with signatures either in Tibetan or in English. The skins were of high quality, paper thinned, tanned and expertly folded, which proved involvement of a highly organised international gang.
Qurashi wife Jetunnisa, too is serving terms along with his father and other accomplices. They have been sentenced under several Acts, including Goonda Act and Arms Act.
NAIMUDDIN: He is based in Kolkata and is active in eastern and north-eastern sectors. Two cases are being fought by the wildlife and forest deprtment of the state government against Naimuddin, case no. 388/86 at Bankshall court and 654/94 at metropolitan magistrate court in Kolkata. Naimuddin has a close link with Sansar Chand, who used to deal with Naimuddin.
Asked about possibility of their arrests, Deputy commissioner of police Tajinder Luthra said: "It will be revealed when any of them is arrested."

End of Article