Man nabbed trying to sell jumbo tusks; no clarity on where he got them

NT Correspondent

Mysuru

Mysuru police, in collaboration with forest officials, apprehended a man attempting to sell elephant tusks near Bhugatagalli Gate. The tusks, concealed in a plastic bag tied to a Tamil Nadu-registered motorcycle, allegedly bore official markings used by the forest department to catalogue confiscated wildlife articles. While investigations revealed that the tusks were allegedly stolen from the secure repository at Bannerghatta National Park by a temporary forest watcher employed there, officials have denied these claims, stating that all confiscated wildlife articles remain intact.

The arrested man, identified as Nakul (30), a resident of Krishnagar district in Tamil Nadu, confessed during interrogation that he had received the tusks from his elder brother, Chinnayya. Chinnayya, the prime accused, is a temporary forest watcher. Law enforcement officials believe Chinnayya sourced the tusks, but the exact details of their origin remain under investigation. A police official, when asked about the allegations, stated, “The arrested accused has claimed that his brother sourced the tusks for him. We cannot comment further as the investigation is ongoing.” Senior forest officials have denied allegations of theft from the repository. “As of now, these are merely speculation. Upon receiving information, we immediately inspected the forest, and everything was found to be intact, with nothing missing.

If we receive any credible information, we will certainly investigate further.'' The recovered tusks, identified as belonging to an Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus), are significant in size and weight. One tusk measured over four feet and weighed 8.1 kilograms, while the other was 3.9 feet long and weighed 7.6 kilograms.