Big action by Forest Department on ivory trafficking

Forest Department's major action on ivory trafficking Under the Wildlife Protection Act three accused arrested, sent to judicial custody Raipur, under the direction of Forest Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap, the Forest Department is continuously taking strict action to curb organized forest crime and wildlife trafficking. As part of this campaign, in the Balrampur-Ramanuganj district, three accused in an ivory trafficking case were arrested and sent to judicial custody Under the guidance of Forest Circle Officer Shri Alok Vajpayee, based on information received from informants on 3 August 2026, a joint team of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (Central Zone, Bhopal), State Flying Squad Raipur and Forest Circle Balrampur carried out a raid on a dharamshala in Ramanuganj Three ivory tusks (jaws) seized from the dharamshala room The joint team searched room number 205 of the dharamshala. During the search, three elephant jaws (ivory) were recovered from a bag. Three suspect persons were also present at the scene and were immediately taken into custody The arrested accused include Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma (42 years) from Palamu district, Jharkhand, Ajay Kumar Gupta (49 years) and Satendra Kumar (50 years) from Balrampur-Ramanuganj district Action under the Wildlife Protection Act The case has been registered against the accused under various sections of the Wildlife (Conservation) Act, 1972. The Indian wild elephant is a Schedule-1 protected wildlife animal, therefore this case is considered a serious forest crime The Forest Department seized the ivory and, after taking it into its possession, presented all the accused before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ramanuganj court. The court sent the three accused to judicial custody in jail Strict monitoring on wildlife trafficking Forest Range Officer, Ramanuganj, said that a detailed investigation of the case is ongoing and the role of other people associated with the trafficking is also being investigated. The Forest Department clarified that strict legal action will be taken against anyone involved in wildlife trafficking.