Four suspected poachers have been arrested with body parts of a tiger and a peafowl from Garhi village in buffer zone of Kanha Tiger Reserve near Mandla district of the State, an official said on Sunday.
Garhi Range Officer Shiv Kumar Kakodiya while talking to media persons said, “On a tip-off, Kunwar Baiga (50), Ram Mohan Marawi (31) and Rakesh Dharbhaiayya (27) were arrested along with four nails and body parts of tiger besides remains of peafowl on the intervening night of October 6 and 7."
He said another accused Rakesh Dhanjai (45) was arrested today on information given by the trio, and two nails and body parts of tiger were recovered from him.
"We have also recovered the implement they used in poaching," Kakodiya said.
The accused were booked under the Wildlife Protection Act.
He said they are investigating whether the quartet had connection with any big gang of poachers in Madhya Pradesh or outside. Baiga, Marawi and Dharbhaiayya were produced in a court which sent them to jail, whereas Dhanjai is yet to be brought before court.
"We are getting the six nails examined to know whether they are of one striped animal or more. Right now, we cannot disclose more details of the outcome of investigation which is underway," the official said.
Meanwhile, wildlife activist Ajay Dubey while talking to The Pioneer alleged that the state government does not have any interest in protecting the striped feline in the state. “MP, which was once tagged as tiger state, has slipped to number three slot in the country in big cats count primarily due to the state government’s failure to protect the majestic beasts,” Dubey, who runs NGO Prayatna for protecting the feline. Even after eight years, the Special Tiger Protection Force has not been formed in MP,” he said.
“The conviction rate in tiger poaching is below 10 per cent in MP. The intelligence gathering regarding poaching is zero. No preventive arrest in regard to tiger poaching has been made in recent memory,” he contended.