MP tiger poaching case: SC refuses relief to suspect from Mizoram

Bhopal: The Supreme Court has dismissed a transfer petition filed by a Mizoram-based suspect seeking to shift proceedings from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra, in a case linked to tiger poaching and smuggling to China via Myanmar.

Suspect was arrested during an operation by the State Tiger Strike Force (STSFF), Jabalpur, which busted an organised network allegedly involved in poaching tigers in Balaghat, illegally trading skins and bones, and smuggling them through Assam and Mizoram to China via Myanmar.

During the investigation, Jamkhankap, a resident of Aizawl, Mizoram, was arrested for his alleged role in the trade of tiger body parts sourced from Balaghat.

Officials alleged that he facilitated payments through hawala channels in exchange for deliveries of tiger parts. He is also facing a tiger poaching case in Maharashtra’s Rajura forest division, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing an alleged money laundering angle.

According to forest officials, six persons have been arrested so far in the case registered on February 18, 2025. Earlier, Sonu Singh Bawaria of Haryana was arrested for allegedly being part of the trafficking network.

Jamkhankap had moved the apex court through a criminal transfer petition, seeking transfer of proceedings from a Madhya Pradesh court to Chandrapur, Maharashtra. However, after submissions by the State Tiger Strike Force, the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the plea, treating the Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra cases as separate matters.