Three poachers arrested in Bhopal

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, JULY 4. Three poachers were arrested here on Sunday when they were returning home after killing two Chinkaras and a Neelgai in the forests of neighbouring Vidisha district.

On a tip-off, the police nabbed them from a residential area in old Bhopal when they were returning home in their jeep with the skin and chopped body parts of two Chinkaras and a Neelgai. The police also seized a 315-bore Mouser and a double-barrel 12-Bore rifle along with the jeep.

A senior police official said the accused admitted to their regular hunting in the forest areas near the capital.

This is not an isolated case of poaching, but reflects how some elements belonging to the powerful sections of society are hunting wild animals under the nose of the authorities. A similar case was registered in Bhopal district in 1996 and two poachers, equipped with sophisticated rifles and other hunting gear, had been nabbed. Enquiries revealed that this case had been hushed up.

A photograph showing some poachers with a tiger which they killed, was recently published in a newspaper with a report stating that the photograph had been taken inside the Bandhavgarh National Park. However, the Forest department authorities said this was not a recent picture. But they admitted that some of those shown in the photograph had been identified. When contacted, some foresters had told The Hinduthat the photograph was not old and could be treated as a piece of evidence to establish that the poachers were active in the State.

Some foresters said the latest incident should act as a deterrent and prevent the Government from going ahead with its plans to allow the selective hunting of Neelgai.

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Section  : Other States
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