Samir Thapar was arrested on December 31 in Jim Corbett National Park: He, 15 others were found in possession of arms and alcohol
On Monday, a local court in Kotdwar denied bail to JCT Ltd. chairman and managing director Samir Thapar and 15 of his friends after their sensational arrest in Kolhu Chaur near Jim Corbett National Park for trespassing on forest land and illegal possession of arms and alcohol.
The 16 men were arrested after Pauri police carried out a raid on the night of December 31. During the raid, the police found that a group of nearly 60, including many women, were camping near the Lansdowne forest rest house. As the police asked them to produce permissions for putting up tents, Thapar's accomplice Mohinder Singh was able to furnish only a booking slip for the rest houses.
The police, upon searching the rest houses, recovered two German made rifles of .300 bore and .375 bore along with 38 live cartridges, packed meat, 171 liquor bottles and eight cars have been impounded. Of the 60, the women and servants such as drivers, cooks and maids were let off while 16 men were arrested, sources said.
Uttarakhand forest minister Dinesh Agarwal evaded questions regarding negligence of the forest department and told dna, "Let the law take its own course."
Thapar's arrest, along with his accomplices such as Jayant Nanda of Cargo Motors, has been hailed by wildlife conservationists as a bold move by the police. This is not the first time that the Thapars have had a run-in with law for alleged illegal activities in a wildlife protected area.
In 1992, the Thapars landed in a huge controversy when on October 21, 1992, a helicopter owned by their company crashed near the Kakghar dam located inside Jim Corbett National Park. Back then, the union environment ministry, under Kamal Nath, ordered an enquiry and its report accused the Thapars of allegedly poaching wildlife using the helicopter. Further, non-profit organization World Wildlife Fund (WWF) had even sued them for flying their helicopter over the national park.
The police raid and consequent arrest of Thapar and his friends came about after locals complained that men in military fatigues were spotted with arms who were camped in tents beside a campfire and loud music blaring. The 16 men were arrested and produced before a magistrate court who sent them to a 14-day judicial remand. According to the police, they have registered a case under section 60 of Excise Act for possession of illicit liquor against Mohinder Singh and against Arif Hussain under Sections 25/30 of the Arms Act for flouting license regulations. Also, all 16 have been booked under Indian Forest Act for trespassing.
Wildlife activists said that the forest department, too, should be held equally accountable. "The forest department are as culpable as the people arrested. They need to be pulled up for allowing arms and liquor inside a protected area," said Gauri Maulekhi, wildlife activist and special officer, wildlife crime control bureau.
Samir Thapar and his 15 men
Samir Thapar, Jayant Nanda, Manoj Sahgal, Siddharth, Arif Hussain, Rohit Singh Dagar, Rajkamal, Sunil Kumar, Rahul Rao, Narendra Anand, Rajeev Khanna, Randeep Mann, Swarnadeep Mann, Mohinder Singh, Rajeev Jain, Romi Bhatt.
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