JORHAT, June 22 – In its initial stage of investigation into rhino-poaching cases in Kaziranga National Park (KNP), the CBI has got “some vital clues” after the Forest Department detained a “dreaded poacher” in its Agaratali range a few days back.
According to KNP officials, the accused Amar Bori has already confessed that he was involved in the poaching of four rhinoceros in 2010 and another in May this year in the national park. “Investigation is going on. The CBI team is camping here,” said KNP Director NK Basu.
As a team of CBI investigators have been camping in the park since a few days back, they collected the statements recorded by forest officials while they were interrogating Bori. However, the Central prosecution agency is yet to take him in their custody for further investigation.
Investigations have revealed that the accused, who was residing earlier in a location close to the wildlife park, shifted his residence to Jagun in Tinsukia district about six months back to hide his involvement in the rhino killing. As he started living in Tinsukia nobody could directly suspect his role in rhino poaching in KNP.
Forest officials found him to be involved in the killing of rhino last month in Agaratali forest range of KNP while he was on bail in connection with different poaching cases registered by police in Karbi Anglong district.
On May 24 this year, forest officials found a bullet-riddled carcass of a female rhino whose horn was taken away by poachers. Though the forest guards launched a massive search operation after the incident, nobody could be nabbed in the area as the poachers could easily hide in the jungles.
“However, the recent detention of Amar Bori in connection with the case has helped the forest officials and the CBI team to get the detailed modus operandi of the poachers involved in the case,”said a divisional forest officer in KNP.
On the basis of ongoing investigations some senior forest officials said that several rhino horns were smuggled to China through middlemen in Dimapur. After poaching many poachers of Assam sold the horns to the smugglers in Dimapur, said an investigator.
Sources in the CBI also said that the recent inputs will help them find out different angles of rhino poaching cases in KNP as well as in detecting the people involved in these cases. CBI has already taken up three cases of rhino poaching in the national park.
