On October 22, Varthur Santhosh was arrested on the sets of Big Boss Kannada, for the possession of a tiger claw pendant.
Since then, Karnataka Forest Department officials also conducted raids at the residences of film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, actor and Rajyasabha MP Jaggesh, actor-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, film producer Rockline Venkatesh and astrologer Vinay Guruji.
Santhosh claimed that it was an ancestral possession and got bail.
The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 deems possessing animal articles a criminal offence. But what if it was inherited before the law came into effect?
Can a wildlife artefact be gifted? What do you do if you come in possession of an artefact unintentionally?
Read more: Possession of tiger claw and other wildlife articles: What you need to know | Explained
Reporting: Shilpa Elizabeth
Video and production: Ravichandran N
