Poachers poison 2 tiger siblings in Haridwar forest, mother missing

Haridwar: Poachers allegedly poisoned two tiger siblings, a two-year-old male and a two-year-old tigress, in Shyampur range of Haridwar forest division, cut off their legs and planned to skin them for the illegal wildlife trade, forest officials said. One Van Gujjar was arrested, three others were absconding, and the mother tigress remained missing as multiple forest teams searched the range.Forest department teams recovered the body of the male tiger from Sajanpur beat on Monday evening, while the tigress’s body was found on Tuesday afternoon from a seasonal drain near the same spot. Officials said the accused allegedly laced buffalo meat with poison after the mother tigress likely killed a Van Gujjar’s buffalo a day earlier, and then mutilated the two young tigers.The arrested accused was identified as Alam alias Ammi, 50. Forest officials said three others — Amir Hamza alias Miyan, Ashiq and Juppi — were absconding. All four were Van Gujjars and lived in an illegal Van Gujjar dera in Shyampur range, around 1km from the spot where the carcasses were recovered.Divisional forest officer, Haridwar forest division, Swapnil Anirudh told TOI that the case came to light after forest staff noticed suspicious movement. “Abnormal movement of the accused Van Gujjars was spotted on Monday by our forest guard, who informed senior officials. After that, a sudden raid was conducted and the body of a male tiger was recovered in the evening. We arrested one accused and produced him before the court, from where he was sent to judicial custody,” he said.Anirudh said the second carcass was recovered during the continuing search. “Three more names have surfaced in the case; they are absconding and we are trying to nab them. During the search, the second body of the tigress was also recovered from the same location on Tuesday afternoon. We found pug marks of their mother and our teams are tracking the tigress,” he said.Officials said the initial probe pointed to poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. “Initial investigation revealed that they cut off their legs and planned to skin them for sale in the international market. Senior officials also visited the crime scene and further investigation is on,” Anirudh said.Shyampur range lies close to Chilla range of Rajaji Tiger Reserve, which has a significant tiger presence, and functions as a buffer between wildlife habitat and residential areas of Haridwar. There are around 51 tigers in Rajaji Tiger Reserve, and most inhabit Chilla range, which is close to Shyampur.