NAGPUR: Even as organized tiger poachers are desperate to target the big cats in the region, disclosure of pits dug to lay metal traps in Tadoba landscape has exposed officials' tall claims that all is well.

Even as officials are claiming that three poachers, already in forest custody, were nabbed due to their alertness, lacklustre patrolling led to laying of metal traps by suspected Baheliyas near Fulzari lake in compartment number 358 in Chichpalli range under West Chanda division of Forest Development Corporation Maharashtra (FDCM) area.

The trap was laid on June 2, but officials kept the matter under wraps till an alert was sounded by Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) on Wednesday evening. On Friday, when FDCM and territorial forest officials went to the spot, they came across three pits dug to lay traps (not recovered).

However, according to sources, on June 2, five villagers had gone for fishing in Fulzari lake. Midway, one of them was very close to laying his foot on the metal traps. Seeing this, one of the poachers shouted "mara, mara" (he will die).

The fishermen got alerted and saw the poachers. They went to the village and returned with a mob of 25 to take on the poachers. By the time they reached, the poachers fled with the trap. Forest officials reached late but spotted three pits near the water body.

However, acting divisional manager KG Joshi says the poachers were first sighted by the patrolling team. They were behaving strange and was having a conversation in Hindi.

"Our staff thought they must be labourers from Chhattisgarh, who are engaged in felling bamboo by the FDCM but they started running after seeing the staff. Our men saw two pits, but no trap was found," said Joshi.

After information about poachers' presence was leaked on Thursday, deputy director (buffer) Kalyan Kumar, Tadoba DFO S V Madbhushi and assistant conservator (ACF) Arun Tikhe went to the spot and found water was filled in the pits dug by the culprits.

Kumar was not available for comments. What raises eyebrows is if poachers' presence came to light on June 2, why did officials rush to the spot after 18 days. "As the incident leaked we had to go there. It is good that we could avert poaching," said Joshi.

On April 27, 2012, one tiger died after it was trapped in a metal trap in Gondmohadi, 30km from Fulzari, while another was seriously injured. Laying of traps again with same modus operandi goes on to show that organized poachers are still active outside Tadoba.

Although the three poachers, Badlu, Chika and Siri, arrested for killing tigers in Melghat, have so far not revealed about their gang members targeting Tadoba landscape this season, presence of other Baheliya gangs cannot be ruled out.

4 held in Rs 1.5 cr cobra venom deal

The Akola forest officials on Thursday arrested four persons involved in selling 35ml cobra venom for Rs 1.5 crore. According to RFO M D Chavan, three of those arrested are from Nagpur. The accused have been identified as Paresh Parekh, Mahal, Vishwajit Wankhede and Amit Bhalekar, Manish Nagar, and Ramesh Kataria, Akola. "We have sent a team to arrest a sarpamitra who is involved in the racket," said Chavan. The accused will be produced in local court on Friday, said ACF S B Gopale.