Shatoosh shawls seized

a special cell of the Delhi police and the wildlife wing of the Delhi forest department seized 96 shatoosh shawls from a shop in Delhi's Chandni Chowk market. The shawls, worth nearly Rs 1 crore, were seized from M/S Shyam & Company. The owner of the shop, Naresh Narula, was also arrested.

Trade in shatoosh is banned as the Tibetan antelope, chiru, which provides the wool, is an endangered animal. The accused told the police that he had purchased the shawls from two Kashmiris -- Basir Ahmed and Farookh Ahmed -- some months ago. The trade in shatoosh is very remunerative with foreigners paying up to Rs two to three lakh per shawl. The shawls otherwise cost between Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh, depending on the quality of work.