Lucknow: A special court of the CBI in Lucknow convicted and sentenced six persons to two years of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs10,000 each in a wildlife smuggling case involving illegal possession and trade of tiger and leopard body parts.The convicted accused have been identified as Mumtaj Ahmad, Jaibun Nisha, Ajij Ullah, Waheed, Sartaj and Majeed. The judgment was pronounced on Mar 30 by the CBI court in UP.According to officials, the case dates back to Mar 23, 2000, when the CBI registered an FIR following inputs about an organised wildlife trafficking network. During the course of investigation, officials conducted searches at the residences of the accused and found a large quantity of banned wildlife articles.The seized contraband included 18,000 leopard nails, 74 leopard skins, four tiger skins and skeletal remains of both tigers and leopards. All these items fall under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides the highest degree of legal protection to endangered species and strictly prohibits their trade or possession. After completing a detailed investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet before the competent court in Lucknow on July 15, 2000, establishing the involvement of the accused in organised smuggling and illegal trade of wildlife derivatives.Based on the evidence, the court found all six accused guilty under section 49B of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, read with section 120-B of IPC and section 51 of Wildlife Protection Act.
