Poacher held with arms in Behali Wildlife Sanctuary
During questioning, it was revealed that the poacher had killed a barking deer.
Biswanath, May 9: Forest department officials on Friday apprehended a poacher named Nabam Naga from Arunachal Pradesh near the Dikal Beat under the Borgang Range Office in Behali Wildlife Sanctuary.
The poacher was caught in possession of a two-knot-two (country-made) rifle.
According to reports, during a routine patrol, forest officials detected suspicious activity in the area. When they fired a warning shot, the poacher attempted to flee. However, he was soon apprehended and brought to the Borgang Range Office for interrogation.
During questioning, it was revealed that the poacher had killed a barking deer. The carcass of the animal was sent to the Behmari veterinary hospital for a post-mortem examination.
“Based on initial inputs, we launched the operation on Thursday at 6 pm. We laid an ambush and waited for the suspect to show up. When he arrived, he was carrying a firearm. On seeing us, he pointed the weapon toward us, prompting us to open fire in self-defence,” said a police official.
The accused was later produced before the Judicial Magistrate Court in Biswanath in the presence of officials from the Eastern Sonitpur Forest Division.
In a separate incident on May 5 , three poachers were arrested in connection with the poaching of three wild elephants in the Manas National Park in Chirang district.
The arrested poachers have been identified as Abid Borgoyari, Mahesh Islary, and Jiron Basumatary.
Police suspect the trio may have links to other recent elephant poaching incident along the India-Bhutan border.