Arrested Bigg Boss Kannada Contestant Varthur Santhosh Sent To Jail, Forest Officials Issue Notice To Jeweller

In the aftermath of the forest department's arrest of Varthur Santhosh, a contestant on Kannada Bigg Boss, for his possession of a tiger claw pendant, official notices have now been issued to two more individuals, summoning them for questioning in this ongoing case. The authorities are diligently investigating the source from which the tiger claws were acquired.

Following Varthur Santhosh's initial interrogation, forest officials have extended notices to his close associate, Ranjit, as well as to a jeweler who is believed to have crafted the gold chain housing the pendant.

A team led by Bengaluru Urban Deputy Conservator of Forests N Ravindra Kumar went to the place where the show was being shot and made the arrest on Sunday night. According to the forest department officials, on reaching the sets the team handling the show was informed and asked to bring Santhosh outside the studio. Thereafter, upon verification, it was confirmed that he was indeed wearing a pendant of a tiger claw, following which he was arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Speaking to PTI, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Kumar Pushkar said, "Our team verified the tiger claw that he was wearing. After verifying that it was a tiger claw, he was taken into custody and the interrogations are going on. Wildlife Protection Act is quite strict in this...We will be seeking his judicial custody for a few days because we need to investigate the case."

During interrogation, Santhosh told the forest officials that he had bought the tiger claw pendant from a place in Tamil Nadu's Hosur town bordering Karnataka for Rs 20,000 about three years ago, according to another forest officer. "His claims need to be verified and he has to be interrogated further in connection with the case," he said.

During the course of Santhosh's questioning, conflicting responses concerning the origin of the tiger claws surfaced, prompting the officials to broaden their inquiry to encompass additional individuals linked to this peculiar case. However, the forest department has dispatched the claws to a forensic laboratory to determine whether they indeed belong to a tiger or some other animal.

The forest department instigated a suo motu case and detained Santhosh directly from the Bigg Boss set on a Sunday evening, following the discovery of his illegal possession of tiger claws. Subsequently, Santhosh underwent a medical examination and faced extensive questioning throughout the day on Monday. He waslater presented before a magistrate in Koramangala and subsequently remanded to 14-day judicial custody. Santhosh's mother has claimed that he had been wearing the pendant during various functions, expressing uncertainty about its authenticity as a real tiger claw or a counterfeit.

On Monday, Santhosh's legal counsel sought bail, and the judge has granted time for the prosecution to submit objections, with the bail hearing anticipated to take place on October 25.