E-Paper
Rohtas: Black buck horns, meat seized from SUV parked in police station, 2 held
A forest official said he is probing the matter and also recording statements of Chenari police station house officer and two other policemen to ascertain their role in the incident.
A forest department team has seized two Black Buck horns and meat from an SUV parked inside a police station campus in Rohtas district of south-west Bihar and arrested two suspects in the case, officials said on Tuesday.
Rohtas district forest officer (DFO) Manish Kumar Verma said a case under Wildlife Protection Act has been registered against six named accused, of which two have been arrested.
Black Buck is an endangered species listed under Schedule 1 of the wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Their hunting invites punishment of up to seven years in jail, officials said.
Verma said he is probing the matter and also recording statements of Chenari police station house officer (SHO) Shambhu Kumar and two other policemen to ascertain their role in the incident. “Action would be taken against them if they are found to be involved in the crime,” he said.
The SUV was impounded in a case and had been parked in the police station campus since June this year, officials said.
Rohtas superintendent of police (SP) Vinnet Kumar said he was awaiting the probe report from forest officials to initiate suitable action against policemen.
The Kaimur wildlife sanctuary in the region has turned into a paradise for poachers.
On Friday, a forest department team had arrested two poachers and recovered a wild boar carcass and two horns of Sambar deer from them in Tilothu police station limits.
On Tuesday last, a forest department team had recovered a large number of Black Buck and Sambar horns and porcupine quills from a grain godown near Chainpur.
Kaimur forests, spared over 1,134 square kilometres, including 986 kilometres of wildlife sanctuary area, are the biggest in Bihar. It has 34% green cover, highest in the state.
The forest area, with immense potential and connectivity with the dense forests of UP, MP, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, have been selected for developing the second tiger reserve of Bihar, after the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), which has reached saturation mark.
“The groundwork is underway. The recent incidents of recovery and arrests are the impact of continuous vigil,” Surendra Singh, director (ecology) at the state’s department of forest and environment, said.
