ID documents in venom SUV

TT, Oct. 17: Foresters and police officers today found a number of documents in an SUV that was seized while arresting four persons with suspected snake venom that could be worth Rs 175 crore on Friday.

The papers include admit cards, mark sheets, certificates of Madhyamik exams and SC, ST certificates, and photocopies of some of those documents, officers said.

"We are continuing our investigation and today, we searched the SUV that had been parked on the Rajganj police station premises," Sanjay Dutta, the range officer of Belakoba range under Baikunthapur forest division, said today.

A team headed by Dutta had posed as buyers and arrested four from a Siliguri hotel.

"We have found admit cards, mark sheets and certificates of Madhyamik exams, both original and photocopies. There were also some resumes, a couple of ration cards and some SC and ST certificates, both originals and photocopies," Dutta said.

"We have apprised the Rajganj police of the findings and will renew the investigation," he added.

Sources said most documents belonged to residents of South and North Dinajpur.

The arrested persons are from South Dinajpur and Malda and they had taken the SUV from South Dinajpur to travel to Siliguri.

The arrested persons have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, for carrying venom without any documents. On Saturday, they were remanded in jail custody for 10 days.

"We had no idea of the SUV owner and had filed a police complaint mentioning the vehicle's number. During investigation, it was found that the vehicle was registered at Gangarampur (South Dinajpur). We are sharing the information with South Dinajpur district police to obtain more details," a senior forester said.

A police source said: "There is always a chance that some members of the smuggling racket also run a fake recruitment racket or they might be involved in high-level corruption. We have to first check if the papers are original."

Dutta said the suspected venom samples were yet to be sent for confirmatory tests. "We are also waiting for a Wildlife Crime Control Bureau team that would collect all details from us," he said.