Seven suspects have been arrested from Seoni district in the past week for killing at least two tigers and a few leopards for their paws. This is the first time that witch doctors have been nabbed. The forest department and STF withheld their names because they expect more arrests shortly.

Foresters got alarmed when a tiger carcass was found in Balaghat'sSitapathor on November 20, with all four paws chopped off. The tiger skin and fangs - the usual things tigers are killed for - were intact. During initial investigations, the accused confessed to having killed two tigers using electric traps connected to an 11kv line of the Lamta forest development project, located between Kanha and Pench tiger reserves.

"They were luring people with the promise of 'raining' Rs 30,000 if they paid Rs 10,000 for magic spells with tiger paws. They have confessed to killing two tigers. Interestingly, these sorcerers continue to insist that they can rain wealth in new currency," said an STF official.

TOI had recently highlighted how this myth triggered a spate of poisoning and mutilation of tigers in MP. "These two sorcerers are involved in killing of many more wildlife. We have confiscated leopard paws and other wildlife items from them," said a forest officer.

"The people involved in this are spread across four divisions - Lamta project, North and South Seoni, and South Balaghat. We will get to the root and arrest every one involved in the killing of wild animals," said STF chief R P Singh.

Officials said both tigers were electrocuted, and their paws severed. The carcasses were buried. "One of the tiger carcasses was exhumed around 200 meters from Pench Tiger Reserve. All four paws were missing. They took away its paws only. This shows that the kill was intended with the purpose of black magic," said a forest official. In October, a similar tiger carcass was found near Kanha's buffer zone in Manegaon and a leopard that died in a train accident in Ratapani had its paws chopped off. Officials ruled out involvement of an organised syndicate and declared a reward of Rs 15,000 for clues leading to the arrest of the poachers.

Earlier, chief wildlife warden Jitendra Agrawal had admitted that people were falling prey to black magic. "People are looking for easy ways to make money. There is a belief that you can get wealthy with magic spells using tiger paws. We'll start awareness campaigns in remote areas," Agrawal said.