This Article is From Jul 30, 2010

Jaipur man arrested with 43 snakes in his car

Jaipur: In a shocking wildlife crime, a man in Jaipur has been arrested with 43 snakes in his car. Police caught him with all the snakes, bundled in three cloth bags. The police suspect the snakes were trapped to be smuggled abroad, where they fetch huge amounts for their skins and venom. The nabbed culprit has been associated with one of Jaipur's dreaded smugglers, who is currently in jail.

Snakes are in great demand in China, Thailand and several Gulf countries, where they are sold for lakhs of rupees. The accused, Rajesh Kapoor, is an old accomplice of Jaipur's notorious idol smuggler, Vaman Narayan Ghiya. 

"The culprit says that he caught these snakes because a tantrik asked him to do so as to make his stars favourable. But we don't think there's any truth in his explanation," said Jaipur Superintendent of Police (SP) Hawaa Singh.

Most special among the snakes caught are eight Indian Cobras that are extremely poisonous. With 25 stuffed in a single bag, the snakes were kept most cruelly and were allegedly kept hungry for the past several days. The police have now registered a case under 10 sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Commenting on the incident, wildlife activist Piyush Shastri said, "In the international market, it's the skin of these snakes that's greatly in demand, especially the cobra skins. Also their venom is used to create anti-venom drugs.

After being nabbed by the police, the culprit Rajesh is pretending to have lost his mental balance. But through intensive questioning, the police hope to unravel the entire smuggling nexus behind this shocking episode.
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