Panna officials arrest tiger killers

The Pioneer , Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Correspondent : Vivek Trivedi | Bhopal

In further evidence of the threat looming over tigers in the Bundelkhand region of the State, three poachers, accused of killing a tiger in March, have been arrested by officials of the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR), who also seized the bones of the dead tiger from the trio.

The PTR had lost all its native tigers by the commencement of 2009, subsequent inquiries cited poaching as the prominent cause behind the wipeout of striped cats at the park.

Following a marathon exercise that lasted nearly three fortnights, PTR officials finally conducted raids at Barho village in Devendranagar range of North Panna division on Sunday.

The action resulted n the confiscation of tiger bones from the house of Mijaji Gond and the search party also found parts of a sambhar from the houses of Ishwardeen Singh and Munni Lal Tiwari.

During quizzing, the arrested persons revealed they had poached a tiger in March this year, with the help of a gun. They managed to sell the tiger skin and with the aim of destroying evidences, Mijaji and other co-accused burnt the carcass of the tiger at Pattalia Seha on the banks of river Baghin.

Mijaji had recently collected some bones from the spot and taken them home, the forest officials also recovered the partially burnt remains of the tiger and some other bones from the scene.

PTR Field Director RS Murthy informed that a hunt has been launched to nab the other accused and success is expected shortly.

The poachers were produced in the court after a case was registered against them under relevant sections of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Locals from Panna however claim that the striped feline killed by the poachers could be the same one, whose pugmarks were located in Pahadikhera area, situated in North Panna division in November last year. At the same time, a male-striped cat translocated to the PTR had also disappeared from the park, but was later brought back.

Murthy said the forest staff is concerned over the safety of the translocated big cats at PTR and remaining felines in Bundelkhand. He however asserted that the PTR administration and Forest Department administration was committed to face this challenge.

The park in charge has also appealed to the public to provide information about the movements of poachers, so that the forest department could avert such incidents and launch necessary action against them.

Significantly, the PTR is poised to receive two female felines from Kanha Tiger Reserve under the ambitious tiger revival plan in the near future.

 
SOURCE : http://www.dailypioneer.com/305219/Panna-officials-arrest-tiger-killers.html
 


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