For the 1st first time in India’s history of wildlife crime, all accused — 37 in this case, dating to 2007 — have been punished

In a landmark verdict, 17 accused in the lion poaching case of 2007 — involving 20 others who have already been indicted — were sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a chief judicial magistrate of Bhavnagar, on Thursday.

The magistrate, AI Sheikh, also imposed a penalty of Rs2,000 on each accused. This marks the conclusion of all cases relating to the poaching of Asiatic lions at the Gir wildlife sanctuary.

The judgment is significant because this is first time in India’s history of wildlife crime that all offenders, 37 in this instance, booked by investigators have been indicted by the court. Those indicted on Thursday include an international trader in wild animals, Prabhakar Keshav Gajakosh from Karnataka, who was the link between the foot soldiers, domestic traders and the international market.

Seven of the 17 indicted people are women. All the accused belong to Baheliya tribe from Panna, Katni and Sewani areas of Madhya Pradesh. Following much public outcry over the killing of 10 lions by poachers between March and April 2007, the case was handed over to CID (crime), then headed by DIG Keshav Kumar.

Three cases were registered within 10 days, two in Junagadh in which 20 people were charged with killing six lions, and one in Bhavnagar in which 17 were accused of killing four lions. The 20 accused in Junagadh cases were indicted in October last year. Skins of many animals were recovered from Gajakosh.

In trials involving wildlife crime, It is very difficult to convict because few witnesses are found

DNA Correspondent/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication