Bengali actress Srabanti Chatterjee booked for Wildlife Act breach after shooting with chained mongoose

Srabanti Chatterjee has been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act. The notice was sent after she posted photos with a chained mongoose on social media.

Bengali actress Srabanti Chatterjee has been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act. A notice was sent to her by the forest officials on February 15 after she posted photos with a chained mongoose on social media. If convicted, the actress can be jailed for up to seven years.

Srabanti Chatterjee has been booked under the sections 9,11, 39, 48A, 49 and 49A of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, which is in place to protect plants and animal species from being captures, to prevent their transport and possession. Srabanti has been asked to appear before the office of Wildlife Crime Control Cell and Data Management Unit in Salt Lake, Kolkata.

She had shared pictures with a chained mongoose on social media earlier this month.

In a TOI report, Srabani Chatterjee’s comment on the whole incident was mentioned. It read, "The thing is under investigation and hence I can't comment anything." Her counsel SK Habib Uddin told the publication that they will meet the officers and then have a clear picture. "We will meet the officers soon to know the exact allegations," he said.

Meanwhile, a senior forest department official explained Sribani’s case to TOI. "It is not only a crime to capture scheduled and protected wild animals but a public personality like her indulging in such act can also influence others to commit the mistake. She should cooperate with us in the investigation and help us in our fight against the protection of wildlife," the statement read.