Forest Minister Laxmi Narain Dave informed the Assembly that the decision was taken on the basis of recommendations made by additional PCCF R.N. Mehrotra, who was asked to probe the disappearance of tigers from these reserves. The findings were presented before the Government today. The probe was ordered on March 19, after The Sunday Express reported that not a single tiger was sighted in Sariska since July.

Suspension orders of Chief Wildlife Warden Arun Sen and foresters Udai Ram, Hanuman Sharma, Ram Lal, Kalyan Sahai, Raja Ram, Badan Singh and Om Prakash were issued soon after the report was submitted. Dave said Sen was the main culprit as the entire monitoring system in the reserves had collapsed during his tenure.

Dave further said that rampant poaching was responsible for the disappearance of tigers in Sariska. ‘‘Illegal poaching of tigers has been going on for the past several years in tiger reserves all over the country,’’ he said, adding that 534 tigers have been killed since 1988 in 27 sanctuaries.

Dave told the Assembly that the poachers had links with senior Congress leaders in Delhi. ‘‘The Rajasthan police had arrested notorious poacher and tiger-skin smuggler Sansar Chandra’s wife Rani Gihara and son Akash recently. Rani was an office-bearer in the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee,’’ he said. While details of the investigations by Mehrotra were not made public, sources said, the enquiry revealed that tigers in Sariska were killed by smugglers in connivance of forest staff and villagers. The smugglers had a free run even in the core area, the report indicated.

Mehrotra found clear evidence of poaching in Dhanka and Haripura villages of Sariska. Sources said the report points to officers at every level who were responsible.