TMC leader arrested in Bihar for alleged elephant tusks’ smuggling
- In Reports
- 06:19 PM, Oct 23, 2024
- Myind Staff
Leader of the West Bengal Assembly Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari referred to the TMC as a "general store of crimes… not even sparing wildlife" after a team of Bihar police and the forest department arrested Ashok Kumar Ojha, the leader of the Trinamool Congress, and four other people for smuggling elephant tusks in the Buxar district.
The TMC announced that they would expel Ojha, the president of Ward 42 in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, from the party. A joint team conducted a raid on a house owned by Ojha in Devkuli village, which falls under the Brahmpur police station. They found two elephant tusks weighing approximately 23 kg, valued at several lakhs of rupees, according to sources from the Bihar police. The operation was carried out based on a tip-off about the illegal sale of tusks in the black market.
Ojha is said to be close to Vivek Gupta, the Burrabazar TMC MLA. When the announcement was made, Gupta stated, “I heard that they (including Ojha) used to keep elephants at home. Many people in Bihar keep elephants at home. Recently, one of their elephants died. They sold that dead elephant. He left two ivory tusks at home. The party has nothing to do with this incident. He has been expelled from the party and all posts.”
On Wednesday, Adhikari shared on X, “Prominent TMC leader Ashok Kumar Ojha of Burrabazar, Kolkata arrested from Bihar’s Buxar in Ivory smuggling case. Ojha, the figure of the smuggling racket was arrested along with four others for smuggling Elephant Tusks weighing 23 kg… I wonder what’s next!!!”
Four other suspects who were arrested are from Bihar. They have been identified as Ganpat Sah from Begusarai, Manoj Kumar Pandey from Pipra Jagdishpur, Paras Nath Ram from Karakat, and Dhananjay Prasad Singh from Tirasi Bigha in Rohtas. The investigation is ongoing.
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