Five people have been arrested in Assam’s Biswanath district for allegedly attempting to sell the bones and skin of a Royal Bengal tiger, forest officials said.
According to Biswanath divisional forest officer (DFO) Ritu Paban Borah, the arrests followed an intel operation conducted by the Biswanath Wildlife Division under the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve.
“They were detained on Saturday, and after initial investigation, were arrested under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act,” Borah said.
The arrested individuals were identified as Eilaram Doley (32), Kerani Kaman (35), Pulish Kutum (41), Ripun Pegu (24), and Dipen Pegu (41), all residents of the Gohpur area in Biswanath district.
Borah said that the bones, believed to be from a Royal Bengal Tiger, were recovered from Dipen Pegu, who was detained at Simaluguri Baligaon in the Gohpur area.
“The arrested five include both buyers and sellers. They brought the bones and skin from outside the district and were attempting to strike a deal worth ₹40 lakh,” the DFO added.
During interrogation, they claimed to have collected the tiger parts from an area outside the national park. Forest officials, however, are investigating whether this is a case of poaching.
“First, we will send the body parts for forensic testing to ascertain whether they belong to a Royal Bengal tiger. Although the accused claim they found a dead tiger, we are verifying this,” Borah said.
{{/usCountry}}“First, we will send the body parts for forensic testing to ascertain whether they belong to a Royal Bengal tiger. Although the accused claim they found a dead tiger, we are verifying this,” Borah said.
{{/usCountry}}Preliminary assessment suggested that the skin and bones do not appear to be from a recently deceased tiger, raising the possibility that the carcass was found outside the park.
“We maintain an updated count of tigers and other animals inside the park. Sometimes animals die naturally, and this could be one such case,” he said.
The accused will be produced before the court after the initial investigation, the DFO added.