Election occult practices spark wildlife smuggling in Chamba

Amritsar, India: The Chamba (Himachal Pradesh) forest department has seized body parts of rare and valuable forest animals that were to be used in occult practices during the polling and ahead of the counting of votes in various places including Punjab following the arrest of four persons including two from Punjab. According to a release issued by the Chamba forest department they have seized 25 jackal horns, eight pairs of monitor lizard hands, 13 monitor lizard claws, four snake skulls, eight pieces of snake vertebrae, 11 shell thorns, and one flap shell turtle shell. Additionally, a box containing snake skins, 40 civet cat claws, and two live snakes—a spectacled cobra and an Indian sand boa—were recovered from their possession.

Notably, the forests of Chamba district have become a sanctuary for smugglers to ‘procure’ rare and valuable animals, prized for their body parts which are used in various occult rituals whose demand had escalated during the general elections and ahead of the vote counting, as many candidates contesting elections seek to leave no stone unturned including use of secretive tantric practices in their quest for victory. Stating that these creatures are invaluable from an environmental perspective, an official of the forest department who didn’t wish to give his name admitted that the recovered items are allegedly used in black magic rituals The release informed that out of four persons arrested for smuggling forest treasures , two of them are from Ludhiana in Punjab, while the other two are from Chatroli village near Nurpur in Kangra district. They were apprehended during a routine check while traveling to Chamba on motorcycles. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a tantrik in Amritsar said that many over-ambitious political leaders often turn to secretive tantric practices in their desperation to win the seat and had held ‘special night-long tantric rituals’ on the eve of the poll and will also hold on the eve of counting. “These articles have immense demand in Punjab and fetch high price,” said he. “They believe that these rituals, even if they involve invoking malevolent forces, can help fulfill their political ambitions and certainly they pay well to us” said the tantric. The rising demand for these animal body parts has spurred the smuggling activity which in turn has endangered the wildlife. A source informed that scale of illegal trade has had a significant impact on Chamba’s wildlife which has made the situation alarming and demands an urgent need for stricter enforcement and increased awareness about the conservation of these precious species. eom

Source: (Times of India)