Tiger Murderer Sansar Chand to get bail soon

[Mrudul Godbole]

Tiger Murderer Sansar Chand to get bail soon

India's deadliest poacher, Sansar Chand, the man who was the mastermind in decimating the tigers of the Sariska as well as killing hundreds of tigers from all over India, is going to be freed on bail very soon.

A Delhi court today refused to apply MCOCA - a tough anti-organised crime law - against Sansar Chand, on technical grounds. This will help in Sansar Chand, now 55 years of age, who was dramatically caught and jailed in 2005, to be released in the next couple of days.

He has been accused of killing more than 200 tigers besides thousands of other wildlife species.

The court said a MCOCA case cannot apply against Sansar Chand as it was filed as a supplementary charge.

Chand had already secured bail in other cases under the Wildlife Act. Two other alleged poachers arrested along with him, had been freed on bail a few years ago.

Arrested by the Delhi police in a dramatic, top secret swoop codenamed 'Operation Murari Lal', Sansar Chand was accused in at least 50 cases of killing and cruelty to animals, but thanks to shoddy investigations and the poacher's ability to hoodwink the police, only one case could be proved conclusively.

Chand and dozens of his associates and relatives were held responsible for the killing of tigers and leopards at Sariska, which wiped out big cats from the world renowned reserve. But despite being caught over a dozen times, the first time in 1974 when he was just 18, Chand always managed to get away.

Known to have joined the trade at 13, Sansar Chand mostly operated from the crowded Sadar Bazar market in the capital, not far from where he was finally arrested.

In 2010, the top court had slammed Sansar Chand in the strongest terms for challenging his conviction, saying: "You are selling the skin of tigers and leopards. Tomorrow, you would sell even human skin."

Sad state of affairs.

[Shyamala Kumar]

First of all we as Indians have to take pride in our countries flora and fauna, the wealth we have which cannot be measured in rupees. Only when the law makers , the law enforcers ,and we as people who empower them, all think alike, can we effectively clamp down on these men who are worse then murderers.The vast majority of Indians have no concept of nature or its beauty Why is crime against nature treated so lightly?.Why don't we have stronger laws for tiger poaching? Nobody seems to care.Those who care are very few and easily discarded as irrelevant in the present times obsession with money and power .

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It is unfortunate that we are least bothered about protecting the biodiversity of this country. Our school and college books don't give sufficient attention to include topics that can help students inculcate the understanding and love for the amazing bio-diversity that we have. Today everything is seen from an immediate monetary point of view. Even reputed journalists have asked me "what will happen if a tiger dies?".

The value of a tiger as the apex predator of a healthy ecosystem is not understood. There is a complex web of interactions and inter-dependencies among the various species. We don't realise that we can't pick and chose which species to protect.

There was a time when the fear of tiger used to keep people away from the forests. Today people know that they hundred tricks to kill a tiger. The punishment prescribed for killing tiger and other protected species should be enhanced.

Unfortunately, the implementation of the laws are terrible. Many of the cases fall in the court because of loop holes during investigation. Also, the cases take long time to be decided in the courts. speedy justice will help.

[Arindam Datta]

that monster deserves to be skinned alive...i dont know wat form of hypocracy it is that crores of rupees of taxpayers money is being spent for the conservation of tigers and the same money is used to pay the system runners be it police or judiciary to set free the biggest menace of conservation???
how can the court say that there is not sufficient evidence of poachoing against him???it is not humanly possible to record the video of every poaching if not of any!but wat about the seizure list???around 500 tiger skins were recovered from his custody after his arrest is dat not alone enough to hang him?