Assam foresters, cops nab 2 ‘poachers’; seize rare wildlife parts

 

Guwahati, Jan 25: Wildlife articles and parts of various rare species of animals were seized during a joint operation carried out by the Guwahati Forest Range under Kamrup East Division, along with Kamakhya police outpost here.

The rare wildlife items were recovered from a shop near Kamakhya under Khanamukh Beat of Guwahati Forest Range around 8 pm on Tuesday.

Two persons, identified as Santosh Kumar Gupta (44) and Sangit Gupta (35), hailing from Simri village in Darbhanga district of Bihar, have been arrested in this connection.

“They have been arrested and booked under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, as amended up to date, by the Guwahati Forest Range based on a specific input regarding illegal wildlife trade of scheduled species,” a statement said.

Among the seized wildlife items include tiger claws, skull bone and teeth of jackals, spikes of porcupine, genitals of monitor lizard, deer musk, deer antler, sea cowries, sea conchs, sea fans and corals.

Beat officer of Khanamukh, Jintu Talukdar along with Kamakhya police outpost in-charge, sub-inspector Abhilash Talukdar, executed the operation late Tuesday evening under the supervision of divisional forest officer Rohini Ballave Saikia, and range officer, Pranjal Baruah.

A case (number G/61 of 2023) under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, has been registered and further investigation into the case is underway.

Increased surveillance and intelligence on the part of both forest and police personnel have thwarted several bids by wildlife smugglers and poachers to carry out such illegal trading of rare wildlife articles and animal parts in the state of late.

On January 13, two poachers were apprehended with a rhino horn at Kaliabor in central Assam’s Nagaon district

A day earlier, three suspected animal poachers were arrested with wild animal parts at Pengeri along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district.