Aurangabad, July 28:
The forest department took five traders selling peacock feathers in the city in custody for inquiry. During interrogation, it was found that these traders had around 5000 peacock feathers, and they have paid Good and Service Tax (GST) on the purchase of the feathers. The forest department team was in a dilemma after seeing the GST receipt.
Now, the reality of the receipt, that who and how the GST was levied, is being checked. National bird peacock is a protected species in India. Fans, prepared from the feathers of the peacock, are in great demand. These fans are being sold at various places in the city. On Tuesday, a team of the forest department arrested five persons selling the fans. During the search, around 5,000 feathers were found with these hawkers. Moreover, they had the GST receipt of the purchase of feathers from the concerned shop. The local forest department is investigating that how the permission to sell the feathers was given and how the GST was levied on it.
Information is being taken from the local GST officers, the forest department sources said. During the season, peacock shed their feathers, and it is considered as the forest property. Hence, it cannot be possessed by anyone. However, considering the large-scale feathers with the fan sellers, it is being suspected that the peacocks are being hunted, and the feathers are smuggled. The investigation is being done in this direction.
The vendors coming from other states sell the fans at various traffic signals in the city. Considering the stock of the feathers with them, the possibility of the large-scale smuggling of the feathers cannot be denied, the sources mentioned.