Notice served to confiscate Sidhu’s Pak gift.

The administration in the union territory of Chandigarh was on Wednesday put on notice by wildlife activists seeking action against Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and confiscating the black partridge trophy he got from Pakistan.

Sidhu got the stuffed bird as a gift from a Pakistan journalist and brought it along while he returned from Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan recently. The notice served under section 55 of the wildlife protection act, 1972, demanded immediate action and confiscation the trophy.

The notice has been served by volunteers of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Naresh Kadyan from Haryana and Dr Sandeep Jain from Punjab.

They have stated that no FIR has been lodged in this case against Sidhu so far. Days after his return, Sidhu had gifted the black partridge trophy to Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Owing to the controversy, the CM had handed over the trophy to the competent authorities for advice seeking to know whether the gift can be accepted.

Kadyan and Jain had earlier moved complaint to initiate criminal proceedings against all offenders under various sections of the act. They also accused Navjot Singh Sidhu of committing a crime under the Customs Act, breaching of public trust, bluffing government authorities, misguiding them and misusing the vehicle to carry unlawful, illegal and undeclared wild bird trophy for pride. An inquiry into the case is underway.