Gang of tiger poachers from Haryana nabbed in Maharashtra

In a major multi-state operation, the Maharashtra Forest Department has nabbed 11 persons, including 5 women, and detained 5 minors allegedly involved in a multi-state tiger poaching racket, officials said on Monday.

The gang was busted following a tip-off from the Assam Wildlife Department passed onto the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, New Delhi, which, in turn, alerted the Maharashtra Forest authorities.

The Assam Police and wildlife authorities had arrested three persons from Haryana on June 28 for illegal possession of a tiger skin originating from Maharashtra.

After their interrogation, the accused spilled the beans on a purported nationwide racket in tiger poaching allegedly being perpetrated by the Bawaria community of hunters through their gangs.

After getting the alerts from the WCCB, the Maharashtra forest authorities set up a Special Task Force, headed by top officer, Jitendra Ramgaonkar, and comprising officials from various tiger sanctuaries and started investigating the matter a few days ago.

Following sustained undercover operations, the STF finally swooped at a location on Ambe-Shivni area on the outskirts of the Gadchiroli town and managed to lay hands on the gang of 16, comprising 6 men, 5 women and 5 minors, early on Sunday.

The STF has recovered three tiger claws, seven steel jaw-traps, and other weapons used to kill tigers, Rs 46,000 in cash, mobiles and other materials from the gang which had been living in the Ambe-Shivni area for a year.

Some of the accused have been nabbed from Dhule and Karimnagar in Telangana, and all have been under various provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and other laws.

The entire operation was directed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Mahip Gupta, and other senior officials like Jyoti Bannerji, Ramesh Kumar, Ravindrasingh Pardeshi, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Neelotpal, and other wildlife and police officials.

The investigators suspect that this inter-state gang may have poached around 10 tigers, and this is considered the biggest successful anti-poacher operation in the past 10 years, and further probe is underway to nab other associates who may be active in different states.