Man held for using pet dog to hunt animals in Sangli forest

Accused Umaji Jagannath Malme, and his dog Babya, in police custody

Sangli forest department officials said they have arrested a man for allegedly hunting wild animals in the forest. The accused allegedly trained his pet dog, which belongs to the Mudhol hound species, to hunt small and medium-sized wild animals such as hares, jackals, monitor lizards, etc, in the forest.

Officials have identified the accused as Umaji Jagannath Malme, a resident of Dudhi Bavi village in Kavathe Mahankal taluka in the Sangli district. According to officials, Malme used to take photos and videos of his pet dog, (Babya, hunting wild animals near the forested patch and grassland and later used to upload those through an Instagram account ‘babya_king_302'.

"There are various such people involved in poaching with the help of trained dogs who post videos on Instagram and Facebook accounts. The forest department, along with the cybercrime cell, is seriously looking into this to find out such accused and punish them," said Honorary Wildlife Warden Rohan Bhate.

According to a forest department official, the arrest came following a tip-off based on which an inquiry was set up, and it was found out that Malme had a passion for hunting. The forest officials, along with the local police, reached Dudhi Bavi village on March 18 and arrested him from his residence.

"Photos and videos uploaded on his Instagram account were shown to Malme, to which he admitted that these were uploaded by him. The accused also confessed that he personally took the photos and videos on his mobile phone and uploaded them himself through the Instagram handle. After collecting details about each photo and video, his statement was recorded in which he confessed to hunting wild animals."

Forest department officials said they have registered a case and have booked Malme under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The accused was produced before the court, which remanded him in police custody. Further investigation is underway.