The State-level Tiger Strike Force of the Forest department achieved a remarkable success on Monday by arresting three notorious hunters, namely, Rokin, Tiliya and Tayohari , involved in tiger hunting from Uchhera of Satna district.
Foot soldiers of an international poaching syndicate, the trio are alleged to be involved in killing no less than 20 tigers in MP and Maharashtra, said sources.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was searching for them since last three years. Information was sent to the CBI by the STF in this regard. All the three accused were taken in the custody for interrogation by the CBI arrived from Mumbai after the court’s permission. The CBI team left for Nagpur on Monday taking along the accused in its custody.
It may be mentioned that these three poachers along with their other accomplices had killed several tiger and panthers in Mel Ghat Tiger Reserve and other forest ranges in the year 2012-13. Most of their accomplices were arrested by the Mahrashtra Forest department but these three accused were able to escape the arrest. Case was transferred to the CBI by the Maharashtra Forest department in the year 2014, since then the CBI was searching for them.
A campaign is being conducted by the Madhya Pradesh State-level Tiger Strike Force since last few days to search tigers’ poachers in Katni, Jabalpur, Satna and nearby areas on the alert of Wildlife Control Bureau and NTCA. The accused have been arrested under the same campaign.
The accused belong to Katni district of the state and belong to the nomadic community 'Pardhi.' They were on most wanted list of the CBI's Mumbai unit investigating poaching of several tigers from the Vidarbha region, said sources. STF (Wildlife) led by senior IFS officer RP Singh and SDO Ritesh Sirothia got hold of these accused based on a specific intelligence while they were working on poaching case of a tiger from Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR). All three were produced before the special court of CBI cases in Jabalpur and handed over to CBI on transit remand.