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Uttarakhand: Smugglers held with ‘11 feet long’ tiger skin, bones in Khatima
Police have identified the accused as Krishan Kumar, Gajendra Singh, Sanjay Kumar, and Harish Kumar, all residents of Dharchula in Pithoragarh district
The Uttarakhand police special task force (STF), along with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and Tarai East Forest Division, have arrested four wildlife smugglers and recovered an 11 feet long tiger skin ‘the largest ever in the state’ and 15kg bones from them, officials said on Sunday.
Police have identified the accused as Krishan Kumar, Gajendra Singh, Sanjay Kumar, and Harish Kumar, all residents of Dharchula in Pithoragarh district.
Police said that skin and bones recovered from the smugglers have a market value of lakhs.
STF senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ayush Agarwal said, “Our team led by circle officer Sumit Pandey, along with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and Tarai East Forest Division team, arrested four wildlife smugglers from Khatima area on Saturday evening and recovered a 11 feet tiger skin and 15 kg bones.”
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He added, “It is the largest ever tiger skin recovery in Uttarakhand. All four arrested accused are residents of Dharchula in Pithoragarh. We have been trying to collect information with regard to how and when they poached the tiger. We will make more arrests in this matter.”
“We had secret information that four smugglers coming towards Khatima in a white Bolero jeep. The joint team intercepted them at the Khatima toll plaza. Upon searching the vehicle, the team recovered tiger skin and bones and they brought in for interrogation. Upon questioning, the accused revealed that they had collected the tiger skin and bones from a Kashipur and were on their way to sell them in Khatima,” said the SSP, adding that a case in this regard was registered at Terai East Forest Division under the Wildlife Protection Act.
He added that the accused were involved in wildlife smuggling for a long time and their past criminal records were being checked.
Last month, a special alert was sounded regarding the safety of tigers in the Corbett tiger reserve and the overall Corbett landscape in the Kumaon region. Special monitoring and vigilance were being maintained especially in the forest areas adjacent to the Uttar Pradesh border.
Corbett Tiger Reserve Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) Warden Amit Gwasakoti said that an alert regarding the safety of tigers in the reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks was issued last month. “The risk of intrusion by poachers also increases during the monsoon season. Due to this, the security of Corbett was increased and surveillance intensified,” he added.
There are 442 tigers in Uttarakhand, according to All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, released in 2020. The tiger population in the Himalayan state has risen from 178 in 2006, 227 in 2010, 340 (including 215 in Corbett) in 2014 and 442 (including 231 to 266 tigers in Corbett) in 2018. Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) reported the highest tiger density among India’s 50 reserves, with a density of 14 tigers per 100 sq km
