A man was arrested after precious ivory sculptures worth approximately Rs 10 crore were recovered in a joint operation by the West Bengal Forest Department and Central Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB). One has been arrested till now. According to sources, the four sculptures were recovered from Begumpur in Hooghly district on Wednesday afternoon.
A joint operation was launched by the Howrah Forest Department after information was received from a secret source. The accused, identified as Narayan Majhi was arrested from Begumpur. According to Wildlife Crime Control Bureau sources, the sculptures, carved in ivory, were stolen from Shillong in Meghalaya a few days ago. One of the sculptures was carved from ivory from Thailand and the other from South Africa.
It is learned that Majhi, a resident of Hooghly district, brought the idols by himself. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Howrah said a case has been filed against Narayan Majhi under the non-bailable section of the Indian Wildlife Conservation Act.
Officials said he will be further questioned to ascertain the role of other culprits involved in this trafficking racket. Director of the Central Wildlife Crime Suppression Branch, Agni Mitra said Majhi was only given responsibility for the sale and police in the search for those who were involved in this case.
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