28th Dec., 2004

Notorious wildlife trader Lala Qureshi, and poacher Lallan Pardi were sentenced to three years Rigorous Imprisonment and fined Rs. 10,000 each by the Judicial Magistrate of Katni, Madhya Pradesh.

The two were the prime accused in the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) assisted seizure of 7 leopard skins from Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, on 23 June 2004. The other three accused were acquitted due to lack of concrete evidence against them.

Qureshi, a resident of Shahdol, is believed to be an important supplier of Shabbir Hasan, the main accused in the horrific Khaga case of January 2000 where 70 leopard skins, 18,000 leopard claws, 4 tiger skins and 221 otter skins were seized.

WPSI investigators and lawyers have been working closely with the Forest Department and prosecution officers to secure this conviction. After the seizure in June 2004, WPSI coordinated raids with enforcement personnel in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to try and get the big traders arrested. Information gathered from this case has thrown up links with wildlife crimes in several other states.