Assam: Suspected poacher killed in Kaziranga in crossfire with forest guards

Officials said that Agaratoli Range of Assam’s Kaziranga National Park has a large population of rhinoceros, elephants and special deer species

Silchar: A suspected poacher has been killed in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park during a cross-firing between the forest guards and a team of armed miscreants on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Officials said they suspect that a few more suspected poachers are still inside the park and the anti-poaching teams are searching for them.

The divisional forest officer (DFO), Eastern Assam Wildlife Division (EAWL), Arun Vignesh, told HT that a group of unknown men were noticed in the Agaratoli Range area of the park on Wednesday morning and a search operation was launched immediately.

“The park is closed, and outsiders are not allowed in that part of the park, so we started a search. But when our team found the three unknown men, they started firing. In return, our guards fired and after a few moments, the miscreants fled the area,” he said.

Vignesh said that the forest guards further searched the area after the firing and found one injured person who was unconscious. “He was taken to a local hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival and the body has been sent for postmortem,” he said.

After the incident, a team of police also reached the area, and the officials said that the deceased person was yet to be identified. “He didn’t carry any documents with him, and we didn’t find any other evidence to identify him,” officials said.

The director of Kaziranga National Park, Sonali Ghosh, said that based on inputs received on the movement of armed poachers inside the Agaratoli Range of the Park, the anti-poaching camps and commando action groups were activated to comb the park and all the exit routes were blocked during the operation.

Vignesh said they suspect that a few more suspected poachers are still inside the park and the anti-poaching teams are searching for them.

“They entered the park with rifles and other weapons, so it is clear they were poachers. We have recovered some weapons and are also investigating if they have killed any wildlife creatures,” he added.

According to the officials, Agaratoli Range has a large population of rhinoceros, elephants and special deer species.

The poaching incidents in Assam have decreased in recent years and the state government has tightened security measures along with bringing in stricter laws.