Contestant arrested for wearing tiger’s claw locket, picked up from reality show set

Bengaluru: Karnataka Forest Department officials have arrested Varthur Santhosh, one of the contestants of the popular Kannada TV reality show ‘Bigg Boss Season 10’. This action was taken for allegedly wearing a locket made of tiger’s claw.

Forest department sources said that Santosh was detained from the sets of ‘Bigg Boss’ reality show late on Sunday night. The action was taken after a complaint was filed against him, stating that wearing a tiger claw as a locket was a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.

The locket has been seized by the police and sources said that prima facie it has been proved that tiger claw was used in the locket. Santosh is a farmer. He says that farming does not only mean hard work, but a farmer can also be fashionable. He rears Holikar breed of bulls and participates in bull racing competitions.

Sources said, if the charges are proved, he could be jailed for three to seven years. A fine ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 will also be imposed on them. Santosh has claimed that he had bought the locket from a person and he did not know that it was a real tiger’s claw. Further investigation is ongoing in this matter.