Forest staff bust major poaching racket, arrest two
The region has witnessed the death of four tigers since January.
Mumbai: In one of the biggest hauls in recent times, forest officials recovered 12 kg of tiger bones and 14 nails while busting a major tiger poaching racket here on Tuesday. Two tribals involved in the trafficking of tiger parts from Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) were arrested.
Forest officials seized the material from accused tribals, Devidas Tukaram Kumre (40), and Babulal Mansaram Kumre (35), who are relatives and residents of Usripaar village on the outskirts of Pench.
This is one of the biggest seizures in recent times. Both tribals were already involved in illegal fishing in the inter-state irrigation project at Totladoh reservoir inside the tiger reserve despite the Supreme Court ban on fishing in the area.
The region is known as the land of tigers. The latest census count showed Pench having 44 tigers. Four of these are known to have died since January. Forest officials are suspecting the involvement of more poachers. The tigers were most probably poached inside the core area. Mr Rishikesh Ran-jan, chief conservator of forest (CCF) and field director of Pench, was quoted as saying, “The 12 kg of bones recovered are suspected to be from three tigers.” But only a DNA analysis would reveal the exact number.
A team of highly trained forest officials, including Nagalwadi Range Forest Officer (RFO), Mr Nilesh Gawande and Paoni RFO, Mr P. S. Pakhale, both in Pench's buffer zone, were working on information received about a racket supplying tiger body parts from Usripaar for some time. The team struck a deal with one of the accused for tiger bones for Rs 10,000 and a trap was laid accordingly.
The seized material will be sent to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, or the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyde-rabad, for DNA tests,” sources said.