A bagful of claws, teeth and skin of wild animals was recovered from an express train at Chennai Central railway station on Tuesday.
Jaikumar, a worker engaged in cleaning empty compartments of express trains that arrive at the station, noticed a yellow backpack below a lower berth on S7 coach of Garudadri Express, which arrived around 10.30 a.m.
The bag, Railway Police said, was handed over by Mr. Jaikumar to his supervisor, who alerted them.
No passenger details
“The backpack had animal nails, claws and teeth and another plastic cover had footwear, a powerful torchlight and a pair of gloves. We have no clue which passenger had brought it along on the train and to whom it was meant. The bag did not have any paper or document with passenger details,” the investigating railway policemen said.
The Government Railway Police have registered a case under Section 102 of the Code of Criminal Procedure — which gives police the power to seize goods alleged to have been stolen.
The claws were later handed over to the Forest Department. Senior officials of the department said they were making a detailed study of thebody parts to establish if they were original.
Officials said smuggling out of star turtles through Chennai to destinations in Far East was common, but this was the first time in many years that a consignment of body parts of wild animals was recovered at Chennai Central.
Published - January 21, 2016 12:00 am IST
