In a major breakthrough against poaching of tigers, a notorious Haryana-based gang of six, which was part of an international network and wanted in several cases of wildlife crimes across the country, was nabbed by forest officials on the periphery of Kollegal wildlife range of Billigiri Ranganatha Temple (BRT) tiger reserve.
The gang is said to have been sent by notorious poachers Balcu and Periya of Haryana and were camping inside the core area for the last one week tracking the movement of big cats. The forest squad also recovered three jaw traps set up in different locations inside the BRT reserve. The arrested are Jagadeesh (30), Rothas (20), Jaler Singh alias Diley Singh (45), Lakumichand (26), Pappu (30) and Bimla Devi (30), all native of Panchkula district in Haryana.
BRT director Vijay Mohan said the gang had made a temporary living outside the reserve along with other nomadic families selling plastic flowers. “We were keeping a tight vigil on the movement of outsiders, especially Hindi-speaking people, after receiving alerts from Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, National Tiger Conservation Authority, New Delhi, and other wildlife agencies.”
Mr B.J. Hosmath, field director (Project Tiger), said the department has stepped up surveillance and monitoring in the protected areas and issue high alert in other reserves. On their modus operandi, Mr Hosmath said the poachers were setting up jaw traps during the night and used to remove in the morning and hide them at a nearby place only to be set up again in the evening. If a tiger gets trapped in the jaw trap, they would pierce its eyes with a sharp instrument and then hit the animal with a stout stick repeatedly on the head and kill it. “Each member of the gang is an expert tracker,” he said.