Chhattisgarh forest department arrested six people for hunting a spotted deer in Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, forest officials said on Tuesday.
The department claimed that the department also recovered 35 kg meat from the accused and sent it for further examination.
“We got a tip-off that some poacher entered in the jungle and killed an animal. We started searching on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday, the officials arrested two people Vivek Nelson and Mexon George and found 10 kg of chital meat,” said deputy director, Achanakmaar Tiger Reserve, Satyadev Sharma.
Based on the statement of the duo, houses of four others Santosh Porte, Suresh Uraon, Bhuvneswar Porte and Budhram were raided and 25 kg of chital meat was recovered, Sharma said.
“We have also seized bows, arrows, steel cable and clutch wire from Budhram. During questioning, it emerged that one Hasrat Khan of Bilaspur had allegedly killed a chital with a 0.22 bore gun with their support. Later, two more accused Asaram and Raghunath were also arrested,” said Sharma.
The main accused Hasrat Khan, Santosh Porte and Suresh Uraon are still absconding, Sharma said.
{{/usCountry}}The main accused Hasrat Khan, Santosh Porte and Suresh Uraon are still absconding, Sharma said.
{{/usCountry}}“We are raiding various spots in this connection and more arrests could follow,” he said.
The accused have been booked under relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, he said.