Srabanti Chatterjee questioned in wildlife act breach case

Last month West Bengal forest department had issued a notice to Srabanti Chatterjee for allegedly shooting with a chained mongoose and sharing the photographs on social media.

The actor was booked under sections 9, 11, 39, 48A, 49 and 49A of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 for illegal wildlife capture, transport and possession of the animals in violation of the act and was also asked to appear before the office of Wildlife Crime Control Cell and Data Management Unit in Salt Lake. If proven guilty, she could be jailed for up to seven years.

The notice was sent to her on February 15 and she was asked to appear before the investigating officers within three days. However, she skipped two dates and finally met the forest officials on Monday.

The forest officials are saying that Srabanti has admitted she didn’t know about the act and had taken a few pictures with the chained mongoose in between her shooting schedule. The mongoose is said to be one of the drivers of the shooting unit.

The officials have now asked Srabanti, the driver and a few members of the shooting unit to appear again later this week for further questioning.

Meanwhile, a senior forest department official has said that it is not only a crime to capture scheduled and protected wild animals but a public personality like her indulging in such act can also influence others to commit the mistake. The officials have requested the actress to cooperate with them in the investigation and help the department in its fight to protect wildlife.

Source: Times of India