Seven men who tried to poach lions get 3 yrs’ jail

Rajkot: Seven accused who laid a trap in Gir forest with the intention of poaching wild animals were sentenced to three years of imprisonment by a JMFC court of Sutrapada in Gir-Somnath district on Thursday. According to the forest department’s allegations, the gang of 10 people attempted to poach lions and foxes by setting traps in the revenue area of Khambha village of Sutrapada taluka in February 2021. The court convicted Habib Parmar, Asmal Parmar, Rajesh Parmar, Samsher Parmer, Mansukh Parmar, Mansing Parmar, Arvind Parmar and Bhikha Parmar, all residents of Thangadh in Surendranagar. According to the prosecution, the accused had laid traps made of iron clamps in which a lion cub and a fox got trapped and one of the accused got injured by a lioness while she tried to save her cub. He had been treated surreptitiously by a doctor, said the forest department.