Karnataka: 3 men arrested for hunting, killing peacock for meat consumption
Tumakuru (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Forest Department on Thursday arrested three men for allegedly hunting and killing a peacock and later cooking its meat for consumption.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of officials reached Maranayakanapalya village in this district and arrested the three men from Odisha who were working in a brick factory, authorities said.
"Peacock belongs to Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. So, it has the same level of punishment as in the case of a tiger. It is also our national bird. The three men were arrested and booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 for hunting and killing the peacock," a senior department official said.
The forest officials have seized 1.5 kg of raw peacock meat, two chopped legs, and the cooked meat of the bird.
"The seized meat sample would be sent to forensics for the establishment of the species, even though it is quite evident from the circumstance over there but we normally take the forensic reports to be completely sure," he said.
Preliminary probe revealed that the trio had been indulging in such acts for sometime now. They used snares to trap peacocks, he added.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
