GUWAHATI, May 29: An armed person among a group of suspected poachers succumbed to injuries sustained during an exchange of fire with a joint team of the Assam forest department and local police at the Kaziranga National Park on Wednesday night, official sources informed on Thursday.
Earlier, a team comprising forest and police personnel had launched a search operation after information about the presence of a group of armed persons at the park.
Official sources said the range officer, Eastern Range (Agaratoli), Kaziranga National Park had received credible information regarding an attack on frontline staff stationed at Balidubi camp by unidentified poachers around 8pm on Wednesday.
“In response, all forest camps in the vicinity were immediately placed on high alert, and additional security teams were deployed in the area. A joint search was initiated by the forest department and local police. At 10:30 pm, the search team detected suspicious movement of armed individuals in the Dhanbari area. The team issued a warning, instructing the suspects to stop and identify themselves. But in response, the armed poachers opened fire on the security personnel. Exercising restraint, the joint team returned controlled fire in self-defence,” an official said.
The exchange of fire between the search team and the armed persons lasted for approximately half an hour.
“Once the situation was deemed safe, the area was thoroughly searched. The operation resulted in the recovery of an unidentified, injured armed individual, who was found to be in possession of an AK-56 rifle and 11 rounds of live ammunition. Additionally, a .303 rifle with three rounds of live ammunition, a bag containing an axe, food items and a torch were recovered from the scene,” the official informed.
“The injured individual was immediately transported to the Swahid Kamala Miri Civil Hospital in Bokakhat, where he was declared brought dead by the attending medical officer,” the official said.
A comprehensive search operation is underway to apprehend the remaining suspects involved in the incident.
This is the second such incident in about a week’s time after a suspected poacher was neutralised in a standoff at the Duramari anti-poaching camp inside the Agoratoli range of Kaziranga National Park on May 21.