In a landmark decision, the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Paoni, S S Sayyad, held guilty KuttuPardhi and four others in tiger poaching case in Bhandara district and sentenced them on Monday to undergo three years’ imprisonment.

Three accused in another tiger poaching case occurred in Tumsar will be produced before the JMFC on Tuesday. Both the tigers were killed by the abovesaid accused between 2013 and 2015. The court is likely to deliver verdict in the case tomorrow, reliable sources informed.

It may be mentioned that KuttuPardhi and four other accused poached the tiger near Sawarla lake in Paoni Forest Range in Bhandara district.

The court held guilty KuttuChhayalalPardhi, a resident of Baharoli in Katni in Madhya Pradesh; JalluRamdasPardhi, BeniramRamdasPardhi, Salis Rakesh Pardhi and RasanlalBadoshlalPardhi, all belonging to infamous Bahelia community, in the tiger poaching case and ordered three years’ imprisonment.

Umesh Verma, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Bhandara, appreciated the efforts of Government Pleader, ACF R D Chopkar and RFO Barai as well Vinita Sahu, Superintendent of Police, Bhandara, for providing police escort in bringing the accused from Haveli in Karnataka from time to time.

Kuttu, a notorious tiger poacher, had made his good escape at Kharbi village while being brough from Wadsa to Bhandara in ST bus on January 21, 2016. He requested two policemen accompanying him in the bus at Kharbi that he had to attend nature’s call. When he got free he suddenly fled away. Since then he was missing while the teams of CBI, Forest Department, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and Police were on the toes. Ultimately, he was nabbed by the CBI team in Karnataka and then brought to Bhandara.

Wildlife lovers welcoming the court verdict expressed confidence that this would put a check on wildlife crimes in the future.