JAIPUR: Poaching incidents in
Ranthambore National Park
(RNP) have increased in the wake of the ongoing lockdown.
Another incident came to fore on Friday, when forest department with the help of local police, arrested three accused who were cooking meat in a guava orchard near the Baler range of Ranthambore. These people were allegedly poachers and had killed a wild animal inside the national park.
A forest official said, “We received a tip-off from our informer that the poachers went for a hunt in the park and were cooking the meat. Acting on the information, we raided that orchard, where four people were cooking meat. While one accused fled from the spot, three were arrested. The meat samples will be sent to laboratories in Bharatpur and Dehradun.”
Sources said, till now the team has not found any hunting remains from the spot and its surrounding area. Also, the department is not able to ascertain as to which animal the poachers killed. “The poachers did not reveal anything about the animal they killed during the interrogation,” said the source.
With sparse public movement during lockdown, state forest department has reported a surge in the movement of poachers inside national parks and sanctuaries. The incident has been reported three days after four poachers were caught on a camera trap with weapons in their hands in Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur.
A senior official said, “As movement of villagers and authorities is restricted, poachers are trying to take advantage of the lockdown, killing wild animals for their meat.” On April 1, a father-son duo was nabbed with a gun at Kala Devi Sanctuary in Karauli district.