Black buck skin: Customs official held

The Anti-Corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI-ACB),Pune,on Friday arrested K B Mahadik,a superintendent with the intelligence wing of Pune’s Central Excise and Customs,for possessing a black buck skin,allegedly found during a search at his house following his earlier arrest in January over graft charges.

The CBI-ACB had arrested Mahadik on January 8 for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1.09 crore from a Jalna-based steel businessman. The sleuths searched his residence Pratik Nagar residence in Yerawada and allegedly found the skin of a fully grown Indian black buck Antilope cericapra (Linnaeus) at his house. Mahadik was arrested under the Wild Life Protection Act,1972. Jayshree Rao,deputy superintendent,CBI-ACB,Pune,Mahadik in the special court in Pune.

The CBI-ACB submitted in court that black buck comes under schedule 1 of the Wild Life Protection Act,which prohibits killing of the animal and possession of any body part. The CBI-ACB said Mahadik possessed the skin at his residence unlawfully. Chief judicial magistrate Suchitra Ghodke,however,granted bail to Mahadik.

The team had in January arrested Mahadik along with businessmen Surendra Pitti and Dinesh Bharuka in the graft case. The CBI team had said they seized Rs 6.37 lakh and $800,black buck skin,gold and silver valuables and 75 files pertaining to property dealings. The officials are also investigating into alleged disproportionate assets.