Search operation continued even on Monday to trace the suspects who were behind the killing of a young tigress in the terai-west forest division’s Bailparao range on April 18.
The forest officials of the terai-west forest division have also deployed a sniffer dog hired from the Rajaji National Park along with their enforcement teams, but there has been no breakthrough in this case so far as the officials concerned of the terai-west forest division said.
However, the officials concerned of the terai-west forest division are hopeful that they would be able to work out this case soon. “We have been working on this case continuously for long,” said Nishant Varma, Divisional Forest Officer, terai-west forest division, while talking to The Pioneer.
However, he refused to divulge much on this case, saying hopefully, the case would be worked soon, he added. It may be recalled that the body of the tigress was recovered from the Bailparao range of the terai west forest division on Thursday last with some serious injuries.
Though initially it was suspected that as the sources said the tigress had been hit by some vehicle, now the wildlife experts have not ruled out this a case of poaching as the serious injury marks on the body of the tigress have suggested. Post mortem report of the tigress has also given a kind of impression that it was a case of killing.
The tigress is reportedly around three year old. The death of the tigress came to light only when villagers noticed it near the bank of the Dabka river in Chhoi village area on Thursday last.
In the meanwhile with the help of the sniffer dog the forest officials concerned have been conducting a search operations in different parts of the terai landscape including Chhoi village, Nathupur, Baintkheri, Bannahera and adjacent areas but of no use.
It is worth mention here that this terai landscape has been rich in its flora and fauna. But increasing commercial activities including collection of riverbed materials and emergence of hotel and resorts of late have only made this zone of the mountainous state more sensitive from wildlife point of view.
The needle of suspicion of killing the tigress is also pointed at the people engaged in collection of riverbed materials from the Koshi and Dabka rivers.
As the officials concerned have said interrogation of the people engaged in the collection of the riverbed materials is also on along with the villagers in connection with the killing of the tigress.