16 more tiger bones, whiskers seized near Kanhargaon; 3 held
Category : Wildlife |
Location : Maharashtra | Posted on 2021-08-31 00:23:52
Nagpur: In a major breakthrough in the tiger poaching case, Butibori forest officials on Monday arrested three more persons from Pachgaon, bordering Kanhargaon Wildlife Sanctuary in Central Chanda division.
Those arrested have been identified as Vijay Laxman Aalam, Ramchandra Nago Aalam, and Vasanta Adku Tekam, all aged around 55. While two accused were taken into custody, Vasanta was asked to stay back as he is suffering from paralysis. The arrests are linked to the seizure of a tiger nail and canines on August 27.
In all, 16 tiger bones including the skull, three whiskers, four canines, porcupine quills, peacock feathers, and wire snares, weapons etc were seized from the accused.
Sources said the obscure Pachgaon is mostly engaged in bamboo extraction through community forest rights (CFR) under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, but the village did not have any record.
“It is simply shocking that locals are not only engaged in the extraction of forest produce under FRA but are also engaged in poaching,” they said.
The accused were nabbed based on the statements of four accused who were arrested on August 27, after laying a trap by a team led by ACF Narendra Chandewar.
Those who were arrested earlier included Vijay Wagh (33), Butibori, Parasram Bijwe (36,) Taas, Ganesh Ramteke (28), Bordkala, and Dikshanand Raut (30), Masal near Chimur.
The forest officials had information that a deal was being struck to sell tiger nails and canines near a dhaba on Butibori-Chandrapur NH-7. All the accused were remanded in forest custody till September 3.
It is not known how many tigers were poached. Forest officials were shy of revealing the area from where the tiger was poached.
“We don’t know how many tigers are involved. During the last four days, five persons were arrested from Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) landscape and 13kg tiger bones were seized,” said officials.
In the Butibori case, accused Bijwe belongs to Taas village, which is on the outskirts of Umred-Karhandla-Paoni Wildlife Sanctuary, while another accused Raut hails from Masal near Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). Another three accused arrested on Monday stay close to Kanhargaon Wildlife Sanctuary.
“The various incidents involving the seizure of tiger body parts indicate that tigers outside protected areas are nobody’s baby. Electrocution is rampant, and in an attempt to protect crops from herbivores, tigers are also being eliminated. The protection mechanism in the forest department needs a complete overhaul,” said Uday Patel, honorary wildlife warden of Gadchiroli.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/16-more-tiger-bones-whiskers-seized-near-kanhargaon-3-held/articleshowprint/85779216.cms
