BHOPAL: Almost eight months after Nepal Police confiscated five tiger hides and seven sacks full of tiger bones from Nuwakot district, Madhya Pradesh (MP) forest department is yet to verify its links with the state. It is also sitting over a recommendation from the wildlife control bureau and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for registering a primary Offence Report (POR) for the last more than six months with regard to seizure of its skin from Nepal, while being smuggled to China. On January 12, 2013, Nepal Police had confiscated five tiger hides and seven sacks full of tiger bones from Nuwakot district while it was being taken to Tibet from Kathmandu via Rasuwa in a mini-truck (Ba 2 Kha 7504). The truck owner, Suk Bahadur Tamang of Chilime-4, and the driver Nakul Tamang of Gatlang-5 in Rasuwa were arrested. During initial interrogation, the accused revealed that the skins and bones were being transported towards the Chinese border passing through Langtang National Park. Thereafter, multiple raids were carried out in Kathmandu to arrest the kingpin of the racket, but he managed to escape. However, during raids at his house, police had seized 22 pieces of tiger and leopard skins including some embedded in garments, various items made out of ivory, over 100 canine teeth, four human skulls, and cash amounting to about Rs 40 lakh and 4,800 Chinese Yuan from his house. Based on inputs from World Wildlife Fund (WWF- Nepal), a team comprising officers of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) were sent to New Delhi to Nepal for exploring possible Indian connection. These officers collected information and photographs of the seized skin that was subsequently sent to Wildlife Institute of India (WII)-Dehradun for detailed analysis. The WII scientists reported back to NTCA that one of the skins matches with the picture of T-13 - tigress of Pench Tiger Reserve. NTCA then forwarded the matter to WCCB, which sent an advisory to the MP forest department in May recommending registration of the offence and investigation with the help of CID and police department. The WCCB also reported that the sacks in which the tiger skins and bones were seized in Nepal had name and address of a known firm in MP. Both NTCA and WCCB had sent communication to the then chief wildlife warden P K Shukla, but to no avail. The matter was brushed under the carpet. When contacted, CCF Narendra Kumar said, "We don't deny that the skin seized in Nepal is that of T13, but we are not sure also. I have asked the PTR officials to verify the inputs." "This tigress was shot in our camera traps last in February 2012," said the officer who remained mum to why it took so long for them to verify specific inputs given by the WII, NTCA and WCCB. Sources said, "T13 was spotted last with two cubs on February 28, 2012 near Raiakassa area in Gumtara range. It was not camera trapped after December 2012, they said. Experts claim by tracking the recent incidents of trafficking tiger products, a linear smuggling route can be traced between tiger bearing states in India to Nepal, Tibet and China. (Source : The Times of India)