The Iynchpin
After the disappearance of tigers from Sariska Tiger Reserve came to light in late 2004, investigations revealed that the man most likely responsible for the disappearance of tigers was Sansar Chand, the head of an organised syndicate with international ramifications.
What followed was a manhunt paralleled in the annals of wildlife crime in the country only by the operations against Veerappan, the sandalwood and ivory smuggler, who was killed in an encounter after decades of operating with impunity in December 2004.
Sansar Chand was luckier. He was apprehended by the Delhi Police in the middle of 2005. Following his arrest he was handed over to the CBI and remains in custody till date. Chand, who has around 20 cases against him, was nailed for his involvement in poaching in Sariska through the testimony of other poachers arrested in connection with the disappearance of tigers from the reserve.They confessed to 10 separate poaching incidents involving tigers and leopards in the reserve and confessed selling tiger parts and skins to Chand.
Despite the number of cases against him in various parts of the country, Chand has been convicted in only two cases as of now. CBI has four cases against him in the context of poaching in Sariska alone. The importance it attaches to putting Sansar Chand away can be gauged from the fact that for the first time ever it invoked a stringent anti-organised crime law (the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999) in connection with a wildlife crime case.
During extended interrogation, the CBI has managed to piece together important information about Sansar Chand's network of buyers and suppliers. It estimates that the poacher controlled about half the market in tiger skins at the time of his arrest.
The agency has filed charges in two cases and is investigating more links. It is yet to be seen if the arrest of Sansar Chand will break the poachers' network or will a new Sansar Chand take over his business.