Nagpur: In a decisive move against wildlife crime, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has launched a nationwide crackdown on poachers following a red alert issued last week. The alert was triggered after officials busted a notorious network of poachers and illegal traders involved in smuggling endangered animal parts in the Central Chanda Forest Division. Authorities across the country have intensified surveillance and enforcement actions to dismantle similar wildlife trafficking operations.
While the Madhya Pradesh forest department has busted a major den of Pardhi poachers in Jabalpur, Telangana forest department nabbed a gang of 16 poachers from a train when they were fleeing from Maharashtra. The Forest Department in Maharashtra nabbed four wildlife traffickers with live pangolin in Wardha district.
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Monday 10 Feb. 2025
Officials of Jabalpur forest division and West Mandla forest division in Madhya Pradesh carried out a joint raid on the settlement of Pardhi poachers in village Devari on the border of two districts. The officials seized poaching tools including jaw traps, wire snares, wire use for electrocuting animals and weapons to kill and skin animals. Foresters also confiscated a huge cache of skins, canines and hairs along with half a dozen two wheelers used by the poachers. However, half a dozen adult male poachers suspected to be involved in multiple poaching cases managed to flee, leaving women and children behind.
“We got a breakthrough following the trail of a poached leopard carcass, which was found sans paws of hind legs. The sniffer dogs led us to Devari village, where Pardhi people have half a dozen houses. Raids carried out on these houses on Sunday as well as Monday helped in recovery of large-scale poaching tools and wildlife articles,” said Divisional Forest Officer, Jabalpur, Rishi Mishra, who along with DFO, West Mandla, Nityanand led the raids.
RFO Apoorva Prakash Sharma claimed that other villagers Devari were displeased with the criminal activities of poachers. They said that police teams from Maharashtra, UP and Punjab had raided their homes in the past. “We have recovered as many as 50 pieces of skin, along with teeth and hairs of wild animals along with the hoard of weapons, poaching and cutting tools. The samples of wildlife articles have been sent to a forensic lab to confirm the animal which they belong to. Preliminary assessment shows that the fugitive Pardhis were involved in multiple poaching,” Sharma said. Three offences have been registered in the case and search operations are underway for around half a dozen absconding male poachers, he added.
In yet another action, forest officials from Komaram Bheem Asifabad forest division in Telangana, intercepted a gang of Baheliya poachers, fleeing by train from Maharashtra, at Sirpur Kagaznagar railway station on Monday night and rounded up as many as 16 adult poachers, both men and women, who were travelling with children. The action was taken following intelligence inputs from Chandrapur forest department.
“Baheliya poachers were seen aboard a train leaving Balharshah railway station towards Hyderabad on Monday evening. As the train had already left before any action could be taken, the forest officials of Asifabad division in Telangana were alerted. Accordingly, they intercepted the train at Sirpur Kagaznagar and rounded up the suspected poachers’ gang,” said a senior forest official from Chandrapur.
Divisional Forest Officer, Asifabad, Neeraj Tibrewal confirmed the detention of Baheliya poachers from a train at Kagaznagar railway station at around 9 pm. “We have recovered three jaw traps and some spears from their possession. As suspects are not cooperating and giving evasive answers, we served them notices and arrested them. We have also summoned officials from the central wildlife crime control agencies and are trying to find out if they have any data related to arrested people. The call records and the financial transactions through their mobile phones too are being analysed to gain further leads,” Tibrewal said.
Sources informed that a special investigation team (SIT) probing into the poaching nexus at Chandrapur are likely to procure custody of the poachers from Telangana forest department soon.
Six tiger poaching accused remanded in forest custody
The Maharashtra Forest Department has obtained forest custody remand (FCR) of six accused in tiger poaching case namely Ajit Pardhi, Injection Bai, Reema, Rabina, Seva and ex-Army man Lalenisung till February 7, after they were produced before the JMFC court in Rajura on Tuesday.
The eighth accused Sonu Singh was sent to FCR till February 7 on Monday. Rajkumari, daughter of Ajit, remains in MCR. “Investigations are underway to gather details of tiger poaching and establish links with other illegal wildlife trade cartels. The five-member SIT constituted by National Tiger Conservation Authority is helping the local forest department in the investigations,” said DCF, Central Chanda division, Swetha Boddu. The 12-member SIT formed by CCF, Chandrapur too is conducting a probe into the case.
