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Tiger death: Poachers confess to killing big cat in Badhapur jungle, forest officials deny claim
Speaking to HT over phone, Ranesh Chandra, conservator of forest of Moradabad range, denied killing of any tiger in the jungle of Badhapur.
MEERUT In a strange sequence of events, an admission of guilt by a poacher has landed forest officials of Bijnor and Moradabad in a soup. While a Kashipur (Uttarakhand)-based poacher, Arjun Singh, has confessed to poisoning a tiger in the Badhapur jungle, forest officials have rejected the confession claiming that no tiger was killed in their jurisdiction.
It all started with the arrest of four poachers -- identified as Krishan Kumar, Gajendra Singh, Sanjay Kumar, and Harish Kumar. The accused, all Khatima (Uttarakhand) residents, were held by STF and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau teams. Tiger hide and bones weighing 15 kg were recovered from their possession.
During interrogation, they told officials that tiger hide and bones found in their possession were sold to them by Kashipur-resident Arjun Singh. Subsequently, Arjun Singh was also arrested. Upon questioning, Arjun told officials that he poisoned a tiger in the Badhapur jungle.
However, forest officials have refuted his claim and said that his statement needs to be verified. Speaking to HT over phone, Ranesh Chandra, conservator of forest of Moradabad range, denied killing of any tiger in the jungle of Badhapur.
He said, “The trap camera technology was being used for tiger census and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) keeps the data of the census. Every tiger has unique strips and it could be matched with straps of the recovered skin to identify the tiger and its movement.”
The official added, “There are many points in the confession and movement of poachers which need to be verified. The recovered skin is six months old and therefore, the incident needs to be verified before jumping to any conclusion only on the basis of poacher’s alleged confession.”
It is suspected that Arjun Singh was also involved in the killing of two tigers in the Amangarh Tiger Reserve of Bijnor in 2012. Poachers poison the kills made by tigers. As the tigers eat their kills in intervals, poachers poison the remaining flesh of the kills to ensure the deaths of tigers.
