Suspected poacher held in Assam with 3.7kg elephant tusk: Officials
WCC officials said that they informed the local police after getting specific information about the suspected poacher who was in the Pub-Kachukata locality to sell the item.
Silchar: The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCC) in a joint operation with the Assam Police on Friday night arrested a suspected poacher from the Tamulpur district with elephant tusks weighing 3.731kg, officials said.
The arrested individual, identified as Rinku Kakati (33), is a resident of the Pub-Kachukata area, police said. A case has been registered against him under several sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.
WCC officials said that they informed the local police after getting specific information about the suspected poacher who was in the Pub-Kachukata locality to sell the item.
“The suspected poacher is a local resident, and he was trying to sell the ivory to someone. We are interrogating him and trying to find the links to understand from where the ivory was taken,” police said.
Last year, several individuals were arrested in Assam with elephant tusks and body parts of other animals, including tigers.
A group of poachers were found staying inside the Assam forest for months who allegedly killed tigers, rhinos and other creatures and collected a large amount of animal body parts, according to forest officials.
According to the WCC, they found a racket linked to several Indian states. “Sometimes the smugglers attempt to sell the animal body parts outside the country,” officials said.
The Assam government in recent years has taken strict measures to prevent poaching and the number of cases has reduced, according to the officials. However, some groups still make regular attempts.
