Task Force busts illegal trade of black buck horns

The East Zone Task Force of Hyderabad arrested Mohd Kaleemuddin alias Saleem (54), a resident of Shaheen Nagar, for possessing black buck deer horns with the intent to sell them illegally.

Kaleemuddin, originally from Sadasivapet in Sangareddy district, worked as a mason and ran a small pan shop. Struggling financially, he often traveled between Hyderabad and Sadasivapet for work. During demolition at a site in Sadasivapet, he found the horns of a black buck (Antilope cervicapra), a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Instead of reporting the find, he concealed the horns and brought them to Hyderabad. Initially, he ground small quantities into powder and sold it falsely claiming medicinal benefits. Eventually, he tried to sell the horns directly in the market.

He was caught near Abbas ground in Chandrayangutta, behaving suspiciously. Upon questioning, he failed to justify his possession of the horns. The Task Force seized the horns and handed both the accused and the material over to M Srinivas Goud, Forest Section Officer, for further legal action.