Forest rangers in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) gunned down a suspected poacher during an encounter on Wednesday night, officials confirmed on Thursday.
The deceased, who is yet to be identified, was killed in the Agaratoli range of the park, which is the world’s largest habitat of the endangered one-horned rhinocerous.
This is the second such incident in KNPTR this month after another poacher was killed on May 21.
“On May 28, at approximately 8pm, the range officer, eastern range (Agaratoli) received credible information regarding an armed attack on frontline staff stationed at Balidubi camp by unidentified poachers. In response, all forest camps in the vicinity were immediately placed on high alert, and additional security teams were swiftly deployed to the area,” KNPTR director Sonali Ghosh said in an official statement on Thursday.
A joint search operation was initiated by the forest department and local Police. At around 10:30 pm,when the joint team reached the Dhanbari area, they detected some suspicious movement, consistent with the presence of armed individuals.
“The team issued a warning, instructing the suspects to stop and identify themselves. In response, the armed poachers opened fire on the security personnel. Exercising utmost restraint, the joint team returned controlled fire in self-defense,” the statement read.
According to officials, the exchange of fire continued for approximately 30 minutes.
{{/usCountry}}According to officials, the exchange of fire continued for approximately 30 minutes.
{{/usCountry}}The operation resulted in the discovery of one unidentified, injured armed individual, who was found in possession of an AK-56 rifle and 11 rounds of live ammunition. Another .303 rifle with 3 rounds of live ammunition, a bag containing an axe, food items, and a torch were recovered from the scene.
The injured individual was immediately transported to Swahid Kamala Miri Civil Hospital, Bokakhat, where he was declared dead on arrival.
“A comprehensive search operation is ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects involved in the incident,” the statement added.
The park, which had a record footfall of over 443,000 tourists in the 2024-25 season, was closed on May 19 as part of the annual shutdown ahead of monsoon.