Informing that wildlife authorities have also sought the help of army to contain poaching in Kaziranga National Park, Assam forest minister Rockybul Hussain told this newspaper that forest guards also recovered two .303 rifles, two gun silencers and a pistol from the poachers.

He said that forest guards had killed two poachers earlier this month also in the Bagori Range area of the national park, famous for its one-horned rhinos.

Mr Hussain said, “We have sought the help of the army also.

In fact, forest guards are capable to face the poachers but involvement of insurgents using sophisticated weapons like AK series rifles in killing rhino came to light in the CBI investigation which in its charge sheet found the involvement of KPLT militants.”

He, however, clarified that the Army would be asked to operate in fringe areas of the Kaziranga National Park and extend their expertise to police and forest guards in tackling the poaching of animals.

The park authorities said that they had intelligence inputs on five to six poachers entering the park and accordingly forest guards had launched operations in Burapahar range of the national park.

On facing the forest guards, the poachers fired at them, which was retaliated by the forest guards in which one poacher was killed around 3 am near Borghat forest camp, the park authorities said.

On being chased, the two fleeing poachers engaged in a gun battle with the forest guards for about 25 minutes before they were killed, he said.

Poachers have killed and dehorned nearly 200 rhinos in Assam over the past 13 years; 22 were killed also in 2014.

Assam government had also set up a special task force to guard rhinos. Assam is home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinos, an endangered species.