AHMEDABAD: The forest department has arrested one more person for involvement in poaching of migratory birds in Nalsarovar area. The department also recovered from his possession two dead and four living flamingos. Another poacher managed to escape. This is the fourth incident of poaching in the last six months and the third after November. Deputy conservator of forest, T Karuppasamy, said that the arrested person had been identified as Nagji Buta Kakriya. He is 21 years old and a resident of Nani Katechi village.
Karuppasamy said that a forest department team was on patrol when it stopped two persons. The older of the two managed to escape. Officials of the department caught Nagji and, after his interrogation, recovered two dead and four alive flamingos. Officials said that, in this case, the modus operandi of the poachers was simple. The birds trapped in the nets laid for fishing were caught. Some of them were then killed on the spot while the others were kept alive after ensuring that they could not fly or even walk. Their wings were damaged and even their legs were twisted and broken to prevent them from escaping, officials said.
In this case also, Nagji would lay his nets in the area which had flamingo population nearby. Later in the night, pretending to be collecting fish, he would kill the trapped birds.
Karuppasamy said that, following a tip-off, they had kept watch in the area. Earlier this month, one Bhupat Bava Chapra was arrested with migratory birds. The modus operandi of Chapra was similar. He would lay a net near the lake go to the other side where he would make noises disturbing the birds. This would make the scared birds fly.
As they took flight, they would get trapped in the net installed near the lake. Bhupat would then immediately rush and take these birds away with the net.
