7 shahtoosh shawls seized from Ansal’s house; wife flees

NEW DELHI, MARCH 25: There has always been talk about the rich and the famous possessing shawls of shame'-- shahtoosh -- but nobody was e...

NEW DELHI, MARCH 25: There has always been talk about the rich and the famous possessing shawls of shame’– shahtoosh — but nobody was ever caught with it. For the first time, seven shahtoosh shawls were seized from the Gopal Ansal’s residence at Aurangzeb Road by the Wildlife Department yesterday.

The only person present in the house, Ansal’s wife Ritu, fled from the premises, right under the nose of the Wildlife Department, the minute she realised she was going to be arrested. The Ansals are known as building barons, their latest being the Ansal Plaza on Khel Gaon Marg.

Unsuspectingly, Ritu even signed on the revocation papers, thinking it was a normal IT raid. The shawls which had been sealed by the IT department were unsealed in Ritu’s presence. Later, when the Wildlife Department separated the shawls from the lot, she managed to make a getaway.

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“We did not realise that she was escaping. She just went out of the room with a phone in her hand, saying she wanted to call somebody to check on documents of the shawl,” said Yogesh, Deputy Conservator of Forests, who was part of the team.

The shawls were taken away by the department and produced in the court today. The Wildlife Department has asked the IT Department to suspend their activities till the accused surrender.

A case has been registered against Ritu Ansal for violating the WPA and officials said it will not be long before they surrender.

Said Rajiv Talwar, Secretary, Department of Environment: “This is a landmark case as it will send a message to others who still have these shawls, that a raid is enough to destroy their entire investment in shahtoosh. The other thing is that other departments, like the Income Tax in this case, will now look for these shawls in future raids.”

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This seizure was made possible due to alertness on the part of Income Tax officials. A series of raids have been conducted since February in all Ansal establishments. The department had sealed 55 shawls along with other valuables in the house. While estimating the cost of these shawls, they suspected that some of these could be shahtoosh. They informed the Wildlife Department and their team went yesterday to their house and examined all the 55 shawls.

Seven turned out to be shahtoosh shawls, banned under the Wildlife Protection Act, and the rest were pashmina. They are made of hair of the Chiru which is a highly endangered, Schedule I animal. The minimum punishment for illegal possession of these shawls is a year’s imprisonment and a fine ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000. The Wildlife Department has estimated the approximate cost of the shawls to be Rs 4 lakh.