Two arrested with tiger body parts in Kheri; one escapes from custody

Pilibhit: Two individuals were arrested from the Palia area of the North Kheri forest division on Thursday evening with four tiger canines, 13 teeth, and 18 nails found in their possession, forest personnel said on Friday.

Following a tip-off, forest officials disguised themselves as buyers of the tiger body parts and arrested Bhagi Ram, a resident of Makanpur village under Palia tehsil area, and Prakash Chaudhary, a resident of Kailali district in Nepal. However, Bhagi Ram escaped from custody in the Palia forest range headquarters before being taken to the remand magistrate in the Kheri district headquarters, and is now absconding. Chaudhary has been remanded in custody of the forest department for 14 days.

Field director of Dudhwa tiger reserve, H Rajamohan, told TOI that a lookout notice was issued against Bhagi Ram and a fresh FIR was also lodged against him. "Forest staff who were given his custody have been given until Friday evening to trace and arrest him. Failure to do so would result in strict legal action against them," he said.

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has taken serious cognisance of the matter. Joint director of WCCB, Dr Manoj Kumar, said, "We will thoroughly investigate the matter, especially in view of the involvement of a Nepalese poacher . Information about the poachers' network, their supply points in India and other countries, and their trafficking history is vital to bust the entire network. The most crucial information to elicit is whether the poacher hunted a tiger to take out its body parts or they pulled them out from a rotten carcass."

Deputy director of WCCB for North India, Vishnu Raj Nair, has been deputed to proceed in the matter and is in constant touch with the concerned forest officials for updated information, Kumar added.

DFO Saurish Sahai said the recovered body parts indicated the tiger was a young adult. "The largest canine was measured at 5.9 cm, while the remaining three canines were around 5 cm each, and the nails were around 1.5 inches. The body parts will be sent for examination to the forensics department at Wildlife Institute of India," he said. A departmental case against the two poachers was registered under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.