Trinamool leader arrested in Boxer for ivory smuggling
A Trinamool leader Ashok Kumar Jha has been arrested from Bihar’s Boxer district for involvement in ivory smuggling.
In a plot twist that even Agatha Christie would find riveting, a Trinamool leader from Bihar’s Boxer district has been apprehended for allegedly dabbling in the rather dubious trade of ivory smuggling. And as if that weren’t enough to raise eyebrows in the Bengal political theatre, four other individuals have also found themselves in handcuffs thanks to the sharp-eyed Boxer police.
The accused, who previously held the esteemed title of Trinamool’s president for Kolkata’s 42nd ward, is now facing the music after the police, in cahoots with forest department officials, stumbled upon a stash of illicit goods. A raid was conducted at a residence in the village of Debkuli, where not one, but two hefty elephant tusks were retrieved—each weighing over 20 kilograms, with a market value estimated in the six-figure range. Clearly, this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill shopping spree!
As the story unfolds, it appears that Ashok Kumar Jha, the owner of the aforementioned house, was quite the prominent figure. Having held the presidency of the Trinamool Youth Wing in North Kolkata’s 43rd ward, he now serves as the co-chairman of the party’s Hindi cell. Not to mention, he has connections with the Jorasanko Trinamool MLA Vivek Gupta, who has also come under scrutiny in the wake of this scandal.
The uproar in Bengal’s political circles was immediate. Vivek Gupta himself remarked, “I’ve heard they kept an elephant at home. Many in Bihar do. Recently, one of their elephants passed away. They sold that poor departed creature and kept the tusks. This incident has no connection with the party. He has been expelled from all positions in the party.” The mention of ‘expelled’ seems particularly poignant in this context, as Ashok has been dubbed the “new Virappan” by BJP leader Sajal Ghosh. Ghosh quipped on social media, “Until now, they were busy nicking sand, coal, and cattle; now they’ve taken to ivory smuggling as well!”
It’s worth noting that the audacity of this whole affair is rather astounding. One can’t help but imagine the conversations around the dinner table at Ashok’s abode—“Pass the peas, dear, but do keep an eye on those tusks, they’re worth a pretty penny!”
In this day and age, the quest for illicit riches seems to have gone to extremes. It seems the days of petty thievery are behind us, as our modern-day bandits turn to more exotic escapades. As the scandal continues to unfold, one can only wonder: will the next chapter feature a circus elephant on the run or perhaps a daring escape across the jungles of Bihar?
As the sun sets on this unexpected chapter of Bengal politics, it leaves us all with a chuckle and a shaking head. Who knew that the quest for power and profit could get so… tusky?
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