Forest officials messing up investigation into the tiger poaching cases

The Times of India , Thursday, October 31, 2013
Correspondent : Vijay Pinjarkar,
NAGPUR: Forest officials seem to be messing up the investigation into the tiger poaching cases by not registering a preliminary offence report (POR) in the killing of tigers at Mansar, Ranala and Bhandarbodi.

Saranki, who was arrested from Umariya in MP on October 10, admitted his role in poaching a tiger in Umred-Karhandla and also confessed his involvement with poacher Ajit in killing a tiger in the last week of November 2012, at Khumari in Ramtek.

Two PORs were filed in the Umred case, but no case was registered in the Mansar poaching. The tiger in Mansar was killed by Ajit, with Saranki and three others. The skin is suspected to have been sold by Ajit to trader Sarju, who too is in Central Jail. However, this fact has not been recorded by the officials, nor is a POR is being filed.

Similarly, call detail records (CDRs) show Sarju's presence at Ranala (Kamptee) and Bhandarbodi (Ramtek) but no offences have been registered. Arrested poachers Mamru and Chika have said that five tiger skins were traded from Amdi Fata and six from Bhandarbodi.

"Written instructions have been given to file offences in all three cases," was the only reply a senior forest official was willing to give.

The forest officials have CDR of Sarju from March to June. But they need to procure CDRs of Sarju and Ajit from October 2012 till the arrests last month. The CDRs can throw light on whether Sarju was a regular buyer of tiger skins from Ajit and other poachers. Links with other players could also be exposed.

It is suspected that when the Mansar tiger skin was sold in December 2012, separate gangs of poachers with huge cash were camped near Amdi Fata. They had given a slip to forest officials at that time.

Sources say that just before the raid, two men in khaki had visited the poachers' camp on a bike and warned them that senior officials were planning to come, and asked the poachers to move out. When the raid was conducted, only a few women were found.

Saranki has exposed wider links to the tiger skin trade. "PORs may not have been filed fearing tiger poaching numbers would swell," say wildlife experts. They said it is a high-profile case, which needs to be probed by a SIT with an IPS officer on board.

Till now, poaching of nine tigers has come to fore. Sarju has already said that different gangs procured over 20 tiger skins in the last 8-9 months from this region.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Forest-officials-messing-up-investigation-into-the-tiger-poaching-cases/articleshow/24950198.cms
 


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