Bail Plea Withdrawn In Trans-Border Tiger Poaching Case As High Court Signals Rejection

Nagpur: A bail application filed by an accused allegedly linked to a large transborder tiger poaching network was withdrawn before the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court after the court began dictating an order, rejecting the plea on Thursday.Accused Kapliyan Mung, havaldar with Assam Rifles, moved the court through Meghalaya advocate general and senior counsel Amit Kumar seeking bail in a case arising from a major wildlife trafficking investigation conducted by the forest department in Rajura in Chandrapur district."After hearing the matter, when this court showed its disinclination to grant bail, the senior counsel appearing for the petitioner sought permission to withdraw the application. He seeks liberty to file a fresh application before the trial court after 6 months," Justice MM Nerlikar said, while disposing of the case.According to investigators, the case exposed a poaching syndicate operating across Central India that allegedly hunted tigers and trafficked their body parts through international routes. The investigation so far identified 21 accused, of whom 15 were arrested.Officials said Mung's network included individuals from Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram who allegedly worked with members of a local Pardhi gang to hunt tigers. The group is suspected to have been involved in poaching of tigers since 2018, and investigators believe it may be responsible for the killing of around 45 tigers across central India.Cases were registered under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the trial began before a magistrate court. The petitioner seeking bail is the husband of the main accused, Nim San Lun. During the hearing, the prosecution led by senior counsel and govt pleader Deven Chauhan, said the accused assisted the network in transporting tiger parts across the border to Myanmar, from where they were allegedly trafficked to China.He told the court the accused helped his wife and other members of the syndicate pack tiger body parts into vegetable packets and transported discreetly across the border.The prosecution alleged that Mung assisted transporters by providing alternate routes through rivers and waterways to evade surveillance by border security forces and other defence personnel. His knowledge of these routes was linked to his experience while serving in Assam Rifles. Also, photographs recovered from the mobile phone of the accused's wife showed tiger body parts that were allegedly trafficked through the network.Chauhan argued wildlife crimes often unfold without direct witnesses and involve victims who cannot speak for themselves. "Nobody witnessed the crime committed against these speechless creatures. Nobody saw these creatures with the accused, and nobody is there to give testimony to what happened to the tigers," Chauhan argued, describing the racket as "a transborder crime syndicate."