On Wednesday, they arrested Jijo alias Chandykunju, another member of the poaching racket, from the Kerala-Karanataka border in Kasaragod district. During interrogation, he has confessed to assisting Aikkaramuttom Vasu, leader of the poachers, in hunting operations and shooting the elephants himself. He was arrested by a team led by Thattekkad Range officer Manu Sathyan, on the basis of a tip-off given by Eldhose, second accused in the case. Upon seeing the forest officials, he also attempted to kill himself by slitting his throat but was saved due to the timely intervention by the sleuths. “Jijo was an expert in extracting the tusks from dead elephants. Besides, he is a known sharpshooter, who had assisted Vasu in all the poaching operations,’’ said a Forest official.

Alongside, the officials have also taken into custody one Chacko James, a native of Malayattur, in connection with the deer poaching case. Both of them were produced before the Kothamangalam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court and remanded to custody. The Forest Department will be seeking the custody of Jijo and plans to take him along with a team of sleuths to identify the major hunting locations.

“So far we have recovered the carcasses of six elephants from the region. However, we need to confirm whether more elephants were gunned down and hence will take him to the Thundathil forests for collecting evidence,’’ said Vijayanand, Divisional Forest Officer, Malayattur.