Vadodara: A new story has emerged as Vadodara Police probed into the source of elephant tusks. Police had arrested two persons with two elephant tusks on July 10. When questioned, the two accused told police that they received tusks for repairing a truck. The accused have claimed, they don’t know who was that truck owner and they don’t remember the details of that truck.

According to the accused Azad Hussain, a Bihari driver’s truck broke down near Golden Chowkdi during the COVID-19 period. The driver approached Azad’s garage at Golden Chowkdi for his truck repairs. The driver had no money to pay for the repairs. So, he offered two elephant tusks in exchange for Rs 12,000 and truck repairs. Azad agreed to the deal. He provided the driver with food for five days while the truck was being repaired. Once the repairs were completed, the driver handed over the tusks and left.

Azad further added that he closed down his garage after his health had deteriorated. Years later, he needed money and contacted Mohammed Irfan to sell the tusks. Irfan gave Azad Rs 1 lakh and took one tusk. The SOG caught Irfan with the tusk while he was attempting to sell it. They subsequently seized another tusk from Azad Hussain.

On July 10, Vadodara SOG personnel acting on a received tip-off, caught Mohammed Irfan in a rickshaw with one tusk. Irfan confessed that Azad Hussain had the other tusk. The SOG then arrested Azad and seized the second tusk from him.

The SOG handed over both accused to the forest department. Forest Officer Karansinh Rajput conducted an intensive interrogation. The accused admitted they couldn’t recall the truck driver’s name or truck number.

Azad Hussain and Mohammed Irfan were produced before the forest department for medical examination and interrogation. They were later presented in court, which sent them to judicial custody. The SOG registered the FIR under the Wildlife Protection Act. DeshGujarat