Nagpur: A CBI court in Delhi has abated case against international tiger skin and body parts trader Suraj Pal alias Chacha as he is dead now.Chacha and his two accomplices Suraj Bhan alias Sarju and Naresh Lala were facing trial in a case filed by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) for trafficking unaccounted cash and tiger bones in 2013.While case against accused Sarju, who has not furnished bail bond, and Lala, who is still in custody in an Enforcement Directorate case against Chacha, will continue, case against Chacha abates, the CBI court said in its order on March 14.The court has said that ED submitted a report verifying death of Chacha on February 13, 2019. “The said report is taken into consideration and there is nothing to disbelieve that Chacha is dead. In view of this, case against Chacha abates,” the court ruled. The next date of hearing in ED matter is slated for April 2 and 3.State forest department officials, who investigated the poaching cases, were not ready to believe that Chacha was dead. But M Maranko, regional deputy director of WCCB, Western Region, Mumbai, told TOI, “When WCCB teams learnt about Chacha’s death, they got it confirmed and the news is true.”As reported by TOI first, Sarju and Lala were working for Chacha and were involved in trafficking at least a dozen tiger skins during 2012-13, five of which were trafficked from Amdi Fata near Ramtek. Chacha was released from Amravati Central Jail on December 18, 2018.On September 8, 2013, a joint team of Melghat forest officials and WCCB personnel had arrested Sarju and Lala from Delhi and seized Rs2.50 lakh cash and 18kg tiger bones.During interrogation, both Sarju and Lala revealed name of Chacha. During a raid on the international trader’s house in Delhi, Rs50 lakh cash was seized. The case was handed over to WCCB and the cash seized from Chacha was attached by ED in money laundering case.In Vidarbha region, both Lala and Sarju used to procure tiger skins and bones from organized poachers belonging to Baheliya community from Katni.In 2013, Chacha had paid them an advance of Rs20 lakh to get skins and bones. Both Lala and Sarju drove to Nagpur in a car from Delhi to collect the skins. Thereafter, the skins were locally transported in a car. Chacha (73) was a dominant player in running the syndicate of tiger poachers and traders.

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