Kochi: Main accused in poaching case arrested

KOCHI: In a major breakthrough, Kolkata Thankachi alias Sindhu—one of
the accused in a poaching case registered at Thundathil forest range
office in 2015—was arrested on Tuesday in Kolkata.

Thankachi, who had been on the run for the past four years, was arrested
during a joint operation conducted by a team of Thundathil forest range
officers and Kolkata police. Earlier in March, Kolkata’s directorate of
revenue intelligence, had arrested her husband Sudheesh Chandra Babu
and daughter Amitha S C Babu from Kolkata on charges of smuggling
ivory products.

According to the officers, Thankachi was traced based on the information
gathered from her daughter and husband. She was produced before a court in Kolkata and granted bail. Thundathil forest range officer Sijo Samuel said the court asked her to appear before Kothamangalam court on April 26. “We received information that she will surrender in court on Thursday. This is yet to be confirmed,” he said.

Thankachi, a native of Pettah in Thiruvananthapuram, was one of the main accused in the case pertaining to poaching of 11 tuskers at Thundathil range in 2015. “Though all other accused were arrested, we had no clue about Thankachi, who organized ivory smuggling. Investigation found that she had strong links with the mafia that poach elephants and smuggle tusks to north
India. The recent arrest of her kin gave a lead and we located her. We are yet to recover ivory products from her. We hope to find more leads after securing her custody,” said Samuel.

Thankachi’s son Anish is also in custody He was nabbed from a five-star hotel in Thiruvananthapuram.

Officers said Anish procured the ivory and made idols secretly at various parts of Kerala before smuggling them to other states.

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/main-accused-in-poaching-case-arrested/articleshow/68605141.cms