New Delhi:
A man travelling from Delhi to Canada has been arrested for carrying a baby crocodile skull. On Monday, at 5 pm, during a security check at Terminal 3 of New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, customs officials stopped a passenger based on suspicion. Upon investigation, a skull wrapped in a cream-colored cloth was recovered from the passenger’s luggage. The skull had sharp teeth and a jaw-like structure, weighing about 777 grams.
The passenger has been arrested under section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962.
According to the preliminary report of the recovered skull examined by the Department of Forests and Wildlife, Delhi Government, the structure of the skull, teeth, and other features confirmed that it was the skull of a baby crocodile. It is included in the protected species under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (WLPA).
However, to ascertain the exact species of the crocodile, it will be sent to the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
According to the Customs officials, the passenger violated provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the Customs Act, 1962. Therefore, a case has been registered against him under sections 132, 133, 135, 135A and 136 of the Customs Act.
The passenger was to travel to Canada on Air Canada flight number AC 051.
Questions like where the man purchased a skull and why remain unanswered.
