Landmark Verdict Gives Tiger-Killers 14-Year Sentence
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DHAKA, Sept 11 (OneWorld) - In the first-such verdict on animal killing in Bangladesh, a court Wednesday sentenced five former zoo employees to 14 years rigorous imprisonment for cold-bloodedly poisoning four Royal Bengal tigers to death in the capital's Dhaka Zoo.
In November 1996 the sentenced zoo employees who include animal caretakers, killed the tigers by feeding them poisoned meat in a bid to prevent the zoo authorities from transferring 32 of their colleagues. The killed cats included a three-month-old cub and a pregnant tigress. The court acquitted nine others of all charges, much to the ire of those convicted who complain the others were fellow accomplices in the heinous crime. In addition to the strong verdict, the convicts were fined around US $350 each. Those who fail to pay up will have to serve two more years in jail. Reading out selected portions of the 22-page verdict, Judge Habibur Rahman castigated the officials with the words, "When the whole world is trying to protect wildlife and the environment, the protectors of the zoo resorted to a role of killers." In the jam-packed courtroom where hundreds had gathered to await the verdict in arguably one of the most unusual cases in the country's history, Rahman declared, "This sentence is hereby handed over to discourage recurrence of such a heinous crime." Hailing the sentence, complainant of the case and the then curator of the Dhaka Zoo, Dr Afsar Ali comments, "It upholds the basic ethics that none should kill wildlife. I still cannot believe a group of people supposed to take care of these animals committed this crime for such a petty reason." On the other hand, the convicts – animal caretakers Azizul Haque, Yaad Ali, Sadek Ali, Sohrab Hossain and butcher Osman Gani - protest they have been denied justice. The convicts and their relatives burst into tears when the verdict was pronounced Wednesday afternoon. Cries Azizul Haque, 35, "Alek Chand, the mastermind of this whole crime, has been released. Is this justice?" Sohrab Hossain, 37, accuses Chand of bestiality and disrespect for wildlife when in service. Strangely, although Chand had confessed his involvement in the crime, he was acquitted by the Judge because the Metropolitan Magistrate mistakenly recorded his name as Alek Mia instead of Alek Chand, in the November 1996 confessional statement form. The other acquitted persons are animal caretakers. Earlier, Chand had confessed that to compel the authorities to cancel the transfer orders, three zoo employees convened a secret meeting in which they took the decision. Other colleagues were involved in the conspiracy as well. On November 8, 1996 at about 4 pm, the poisoned meat was distributed among the three tigers. On the following day, one of the tigers named Raju, aged 20 died, followed two days later by two tigresses aged seven and 14 years. On November 13, one of the tigress cubs, which had drunk its ill-fated mother's milk, also died of suffocation. Pronouncing the verdict, the judge Wednesday said the prosecutions had proved charges against the five people beyond any doubt. Zoo curator Dr Asfar Ali had filed the case in November 1996. On January 21, 1998, the Detective Branch arrested some 20 guards and zoo employees, charging 14 people with the offense. The court framed charges against them on July 26, 1998 and began its trial on January 26, 2000. Bangladesh tiger expert Khasru Chowdhury terms the verdict a revolutionary one. As he points out, "Its impact will reach the Sundarbans mangrove forest where tiger poaching poses a continuous threat." He stresses that, "I believe this will also encourage people to fight against any illegal trading and poaching of wildlife in Bangladesh." Observes member of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association Rezwana Chowdhury, "Earlier too there were police or Forest Department actions against wildlife poachers. But this is a landmark verdict which will act as a pillar for legal reference." The 230-acre sprawling Dhaka Zoological Gardens, popularly known as Mirpur Zoo is one of the very few recreational centers in Dhaka. It houses nearly 1400 animals and birds of 124 species. Since 1974, some 35 tigers have been born in the Dhaka zoo. Thanks to a space and financial crunch, most of them were either sent overseas or to other zoos in the country. The zoo currently houses 14 Royal Bengal Tigers. But the Royal Bengal tiger, known as Bangladesh's national animal, is the pride of the zoo. |
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