JABALPUR/BHOPAL: In the third incident of poaching reported since last November, a partly decomposed and skinned carcass of a tiger was found in the forest area of Umaria approximately 25 kilometers away from Bandhavgarh tiger reserve.
Killed on the intervening night of December 7 and 8, the big cat fell into an electrical trap - a GI wire from the 440 KV service line pegged to a wooden pole.
And even as wildlife activists are up in arms against the total failure to curb the rising cases of tiger killings in the state, forest minister Sartaj Singh plays cool and underplays the issue.
Talking to TOI on Monday, Singh listed the arrest of five suspects by the police as a major achievement, which should instead be highlighted. The arrests have been made only because the forest department is alert, he declared. "Anyway keeping a constant vigil on the tiger's movement is impossible for who knows where the animal will go and when. (sher kahan khan jaata a hai yeh hum kaise jaan sakte hain).
Similarly, how does one guess where the poachers have laid traps? The jungle is so vast. Crimes happen no one can predict or preempt the crime an annoyed minister imperiously announced. You must note, he said that we have been able to catch the culprit the same day and sized the stuff."
