Poacher’s wife gets 7-yr jail term

NEW DELHI: Rani, the wife of convicted poacher Sansar Chand, was convicted on Friday in Uttarakhand for illegal wildlife trade, and sentenced to seven years in prison. This is only the second time that maximum punishment under the Wildlife Protection Act has been given in Indian history.

The case pertains to the seizure of two leopard skins and two jackal skins in Naogaon village, Pauri, in 2004. According to sources in the Uttarakhand wildlife department, even though Sansar Chand had been previously arrested, Rani and others in his family had been spearheading the wildlife trade in northern India.

Wildlife protection activists said that this prosecution was a significant moment in the protection of Indian wildlife because it is only the second time that someone has been convicted and been given the maximum punishment under the Act.