In a major development acting on specific information, ivory pieces worth about 3.15 kg were seized by the Terai-west forest division from two persons on Sunday.
As preliminary interrogations of the two suspects arrested in this connection from Terai-west forest division’s Sultanpur Patti area on Sunday suggest, a few more arrests are likely in connection with the smuggling of valuable ivory pieces, officials of the Terai-west forest division said.
The two suspects arrested in this case, have been identified as Faizal Hasan and Iqrar. Both the suspects belong to Rampur (UP), the officials concerned of the Terai-west forest division further said.
“We have been able to nab the suspects only after acting on a specific information received in this regard here on Sunday,” said Nishant Varma, Divisional Forest Officer(DFO), Terai-west forest division, while talking to The Pioneer.
There are a total six pieces of ivory recovered from the two suspects. They were about to hand over the valuable ivory pieces to someone from this same locality of Terai-west forest division itself.
But investigation is on to trace those to whom, the two suspects were going to hand over the ivory pieces, the DFO of the Terai-west forest division further said.
During the course of investigation of the two arrested suspects, it has also come to light that at least there are two more suspects involved in this case. Therefore, efforts are on to arrest rest of the suspects in this case, the senior forest officials of the Terai-west forest division added.
“As we have some confidential information in this regard, so acting on this specific information we managed to nab the two suspects from Sultanpur Patti area of the Terai-west forest division on Sunday,” Varma further said.
At the same time all the necessary steps are being taken as per the law against the two suspects, he asserted. As it was anticipated that anti-wildlife elements may be active during the festival seasons of Holi, this incident of seizure of valuable ivory pieces has again established the fact that this Terai-Bhabar region has been a soft target for the anti-wildlife elements.
long and porous boundary with Nepal and equally sensitive interstate border with UP, as the wildlife experts have maintained, have only made this Terai landscape which is considered to be rich in its flora and fauna, more vulnerable to poaching.