Three poachers intent on poaching tusker elephant were nabbed by lansdowne forest division patrol team on Saturday and presented in court on the same day from where they were sent to the juvenile home on the basis of their claim of being juveniles. The forest department has decided to check and ascertain their claim of being juveniles on Monday.
Three persons claiming to be natives of Bijnor in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh were nabbed with illegal firearms, knife, saw and foodstuff while looking to poach a tusker in lansdowne forest division. They were presented in the court of the Judicial Magistrate at Kotdwar on the same day.
lansdowne divisional forest officer Nitish Mani Tripathi said that the accused trio was sent to the reformation centre in Pauri. The DFO said that on Saturday morning, department personnel were patrolling the west Kotdi area when they saw three suspicious persons who tried to escape.
The three claimed that the person who had planned the poaching had motivated them to kill a tusker for ivory. They said that it was this man who provided them the gun and ammo. They had reached the forest at midnight but claimed to have been in dread of wildlife which made them move out of the jungle when they were nabbed by the authorities.