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Forest guard walks off with elephant tusks, no one notices for two years!

  • An arrest in Karnataka has revealed an astonishing breach of security in Andhra Pradesh 
  • An Andhra forest guard was caught trying to sell some elephant tusks in Karnataka
  • The tusks had been stolen from a 'strong room', even as senior officers watched TV in the other room
Forest guard walks off with elephant tusks no one notices for two years

The Kuppam forest division on the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border is in the dock for failing to protect two elephant tusks, which were court property. 


Ironically, a guard of the forest watch itself stole the tusks from the 'strong room' while senior officers were busy watching TV two years ago. The guard, along with a former BIOCON employee, was caught trying to sell the tusks in Karnataka ten days ago. 


The shameful incident was reported on February 13 when Malur Division Police, Karnataka, caught Mehboob Basha red handed while trying to sell the tusks. Basha was a forest guard attached to the Kuppam Range Forest Office in Andhra Pradesh. 


Pradeep, Inspector, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Chennai said that along with Basha, Madhusudan, a former BIOCON employee, Maya Kannan, Mani, Periya Swamy and Doreswamy of Hosur in Tamil Nadu was arrested for trying to sell elephant tusks.

 

As it turns out, the accused gang had found three elephant tusks in a forest area and were looking for potential buyers to sell it. They had come in contact with Basha, who was also trying to sell two stolen tusks and formed a team to trade these products - which are banned under the wildlife act. 

 

"Five tusks were recovered. Two tusks belong to the Kuppam Forest Range. During the spot inspection, the forest guard  Basha led the investigation team to the 'strong room' of Kuppam. 

 

Only then did senior officers realise that court property was stolen two years ago, that too by their own staff," said Pradeep.

 

Sharath Babu, wildlife warden, Bengaluru Urban, told Asianet Newsable, based on the credible information, that the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau alerted the Karnataka Forest division and local police about the deal. 

 

A few of the officers and wildlife activists posed as buyers and asked Basha and the others to come to Malur to sell it. As soon as the team arrived to sell the tusks in a private car, they were arrested red-handed. 


The point to note is simple, Andhra forest officials would have apparently never known about their own forest official breaching their strong room and stealing the tusk, if Karnataka police, along with a Chennai team, had not arrested the accused persons.


So much for security! 

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