A 32-year-old man has been arrested for killing two barking deer and trying to sell off their skin to roadside herbal shops in the city.
A 32-year-old man has been arrested for killing two barking deer and trying to sell off their skin to roadside herbal shops in the city.u00a0The Hadapsar police arrested Raju alias Dipak Bhimrao Gaikwad, a resident of Ambedkar Vasahat in Pimpari area, while he was suspiciously loitering along the railway tracks near Vaiduwadi.u00a0
Skin show: Police Inspector Pandharinath Mandhare (left) and hisu00a0
team with the two barking deer skins recovered
Osmanabad to city
According to the police, Gaikwad confessed to having killed the animals some three weeks ago in Kalamb near Osmanabad, around 234 km from the city.u00a0According to forest department sources, people practising witchcraft also use the animal's skin as aasana, or carpet, while performing black magic.u00a0The police said one of the deer was three years old, while the other was four.u00a0
Cops smell a rat
Police Inspector P N Mandhare said, "We conducted this raid when we found a person suspiciously loitering around railway tracks area near Mantri Housing Society on Wednesday evening. When we intercepted him and checked his bag, we recovered two deer skins."
Deputy Conservator of Forest Rajendra Kadam said, "These are the skins of barking deer, a Schedule III animal. A person responsible for killing or possessing its skin can be booked under Section 9 of Wild Life Protection Act 1972. The maximum quantum of punishment is one year."u00a0
