'Hunted a tiger 37 years ago, removed its tooth and wearing it as accessory'; MLA claims in viral video

MUMBAI: An MLA in Maharashtra has come up with a strange claim that he had hunted down and killed a tiger 37 years ago and is wearing its tooth around his neck as an accessory. It was Sanjay Gaikwad, an MLA from the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, who made the claim.

Sanjay Gaikwad is an MLA from Vidarbha region. In a video circulating on social media, the MLA can be seen saying that he hunted the tiger in 1987 and has been wearing its tooth around his neck since then.

“This is a tiger tooth. In 1987, I had hunted it and removed it (the tooth). I have been wearing it around my neck since then,” said Gaikwad.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena's (Uddhav Thackeray wing) mouthpiece Samna has shared the video of the MLA's claim in its online edition. Samna also pointed out that the hunting and killing of tigers was a criminal offence in the country even before 1987.