Actor Darshan, MP Jaggesh under scanner after complaints of possession of wildlife articles

NT Correpondent

Bengaluru: A team of senior officials from Karnataka Forest Department would be visiting various places to probe if celebrities and others against whom complaints have been received are in possession of Wildlife articles, officials said on Wednesday.

Action will be initiated against them under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 if they are found in possession of such articles, they said.

Karnataka Environment and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said the law of the land is applicable to all without any discrimination and the government will act as per the law.

The Forest Department's move comes days after contestant of Bigg Boss Kannada reality show Varthur Santosh was arrested from the set on Sunday for allegedly wearing a tiger claw pendant.

He was later sent to 14 days judicial custody. Following his arrest, social media was flooded with photos of Kannada film actor Darshan, actor-turned-politician and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Jaggesh, and JDS leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy purportedly wearing such pendants.

This prompted several organisations to officially write to the forest department seeking action against them. Actor-politician and former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy clarified that the tiger claw pendant that he was seen wearing was fake.

“It has been reported in some media that Nikhil Kumaraswamy wore a Tiger claw pendant during his marriage. This is far from the truth. I am certainly aware of the seriousness of the Wildlife Protection Act. The Tiger claw pendant I was wearing was fake, not real. It was given as a gift for my marriage. I still have it. Concerned authorities can verify. Please request no one to spread news which is far from the truth,” he said in a statement on 'X'.

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Kumar Pushkar said the department has received formal complaint against Darshan, leading producer Rockline Venkatesh, actorturned-politician and Jaggesh, Venkateshwara Swamy in Kunigal and Vinay Guruji in Chikkamagaluru among others.

“We are verifying all these cases which have come to our notice through the media and several organisations which were received by us this morning. So, we are verifying each and every one of them and we will take action as per the Wildlife Protection Act wherever we find that the person actually possesses such wildlife articles,” he said.