18 June,2023 06:04 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic
Three persons from Maharashtra's Thane district have been held in Ratnagiri allegedly with weapons along with a local resident. The trio were allegedly planning to hunt in the area, a police official said on Sunday, according to the PTI.
They were held on June 16 after their car was found suspiciously parked in a jungle patch between Kadivali Baildev-Mandangad road, the Dapoli police station official said, reported the PTI.
"We found a rifle, 15 live cartridges cumulatively valued at Rs 2.03 lakh. The car has also been seized. They were planning to hunt in the area," he said, as per the PTI.
The four have been charged under Indian Penal Code and Arms Act provisions, he added.
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Meanwhile, in March this year, the Navi Mumbai Police had said that it had seized skin and nails of a leopard from their jurisdiction and nabbed a man for allegedly trying to sell them after hunting it. The police had said that they had also seized a gun from which the wild animal was killed.
According to the police, the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch had initially received a tip-off regarding a suspect reaching Kharpada Toll Naka on the Mumbai-Goa Highway with the skin of the big cat on February 28. On receiving the information, a team led by Inspector Ravindra Patil began to verify the facts of the information and after working on the information he deputed a team at the spot to lay a trap.
The team of Navi Mumbai Crime Branch officials laid a trap on the Mumbai-Goa Highway and after some time, a suspicious man with a bag was spotted at the spot near Kharpada Bridge, he was moving towards the Kharpada Toll Naka.
The police, on checking the bag he was carrying, found the skin of the leopard was found. He was later booked by the police under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and later placed under arrest, the police said.
The police had also recovered a gun which was allegedly used to hunt the leopard. Along with the skin at least seven nails of the leopard were also seized from the accused, an official had said.
(with PTI inputs)
