Two held with rare species of snake in Palghar

Accused had planned to sell the snakes for Rs 8 crore. Pic/ Hanif Patel

The Palghar local crime branch, during a raid at a farmhouse in Govade village in the district on Tuesday, arrested two people with rare species of snake worth Rs 1.5 crore. The two men have been identified as Sunil Pandurang Dhanava, 46, resident of Masvan village, and Pawan Shankar Bhoya, 39.

A team of crime branch officials led by senior inspector Jitendra Vankoti raided the farmhouse on a tip-off and recovered the two snakes, said sources. The duo were planning to sell the snakes, believed in the ancient times to bring good luck and wealth, for Rs 8 crore, an official said. He added that they also recovered materials believed to be used in black magic.

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Dhanava is a politician who contested the Lok Sabha and assembly polls from the Shiv Sena party in 2009 and 2015. He wanted to contest the polls this year as well but his seat was given to someone else. Dhanava then bought the snake for better luck but after it did not work, he decided to sell them, the officer said.

We have booked the accused under Schedule of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and a court has remanded them in police custody, said PSI Hitendra Vichare. In another incident, the Farakka police arrested a man named Isha Seikh with a rare species of takshak snake on Friday. The snake costs around Rs 9 crore in the illegal market, an officer said.

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