Two alleged poachers nabbed near PTR

The police team recovered some body parts of animals from their possession which were sent to the forensic laboratory for analysis. The accused were booked under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Lucknow: Two alleged poachers, said to be active in the terai belt of Uttar Pradesh, were arrested in a joint operation of forest and police departments in Pilibhit on Sunday morning, officials said.

Activities of poachers increased in the forest reserve area post monsoon, said police. (HT photo)

The accused Dubey Ram and Kamlesh Pal, both residents of Amariya area of Pilibhit, were suspected to be part of a gang active near Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), officials said.

The police team recovered some body parts of animals from their possession which were sent to the forensic laboratory for analysis. The accused were booked under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.

SP of Pilibhit Dinesh Kumar P said, “The activities of poachers increase in the forest reserve area post monsoon. The duo was arrested after local intelligence inputs.”

The two arrested people told the police that they smuggled animal parts into nearby Nepal for sale in illegal markets. Based on the information provided by the accused, police are also on the look-out for other members of the poachers’ gang.

In April, the police had busted a poaching nexus in Shahjahanpur district and arrested its mastermind, one Love Kumar who was involved in the death of a tiger in PTR.