Mumbai: Father-son arrested for trying to sell tiger skin

Mumbai: A 62-year-old man and his son were arrested on Wednesday for trying to sell tiger skin for Rs 3.5 lakh in Ulhasnagar. Hareshkumar Narayandas Hansrajani, 62, and his son Dipak, 30, have been remanded in police custody. Police said during investigation they also found that the accused who own a shop in Ulhasnagar used to sell materials utilised during rituals.

They told police that three years ago, an unknown person had sold the tiger skin to them. They never again saw the person in Ulhasnagar. Ankit Goyal, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 4, said, “We got a tip off that the accused were hiding tiger skin in their godown. We soon formed a team who went and searched the area. We also called the forest officer, who reached the spot and identified the tiger skin.”

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Police suspect, the duo may have been adding small parts of the tiger skin to the material they sold for rituals. Goyal said, “We have registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC. The accused were about to sell the tiger skin to someone. We also found that the market price of the tiger skin is Rs3.5 lakh. Further investigations are on. “ A forest officer from Thane said, “In our primary investigation, we found that the skin is that of the tiger. It has been sent to the forensic lab for further details”.