Andhra Pradesh forest dept suspects wider crime syndicate after finding priest with deer skin

Chittoor: The Andhra Pradesh forest department is probing the angle of involvement of a wider network of poachers and an organised crime syndicate after a temple priest was found with a deer skin recently and admitting that he borrowed it for a ritual, an official said.

The forest department arrested Krishna Mohan (45), the priest, for possessing the deer skin, which he claimed to have borrowed from a shopkeeper, Shiva, besides the Kanipakam temple in Chittoor district. Shiva was also arrested by the officials.

"This person (Shiva) has links with Tamil Nadu poachers," said Chittoor district forest officer (DFO) Chaitanya Kumar Reddy, adding that the priest borrowed it for some pooja.

The forest department suspects that discovering the deer skin could not be a stray incident and officials are of the view that a wider underground network is behind this development, including suspecting the prevalence of such elements operating near temples.

When Reddy probed the priest on possession of the deer skin, the latter informed him that some rituals require deer skin.

According to Reddy, the accused told officials that they brought the deer skin three months ago, which on confiscation has been dispatched for forensic analysis to ascertain the age of the deer.

The duo was booked under Sections 50 to 54 under the Wildlife Protection Act, which can attract a maximum imprisonment of 3 to 7 years and a penalty of Rs 50,000.

Further, the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) official noted that the mere possession of a wildlife trophy without a proper certificate is also an offence, which falls under illegal possession of wildlife trophy provision, in this case the deer skin.

Inputs from PTI