In an embarrassment to the new Government in Assam, poachers have killed the second one-horned rhino in Assam’s Kaziranga Nationa Park within a span of one week and taken away its horn.
Park officials recovered a carcass of a female one-horned rhino from Bagori range of the park on Sunday morning. It was suspected that the poachers have killed the rhino on Saturday evening and managed to take away its horn.
This is the second one-horned rhino to be killed in the park within a span of one week and after the new Government has taken over in Assam. It is also the ninth rhino to be killed in the park since January this year.
The killing of the rhino came as an embarrassment to the new Government as Forest Minister Pramila Rani Brahma have recently visited the park twice and assured to stop the poaching immediately. The poachers had also killed a one-horned rhino in the park last week when the Minister was visiting the park in the first week of this month.
Following the poaching of the rhino last week, the Assam Government has also suspended the park Director for allegedly trying to conceal from the State Forest Minister the incident of rhino poaching that had taken place on June 7.
The poaching of the one horned rhino has become one of the important political issues in the recently concluded assembly polls in Assam. While the erstwhile Congress Government, which was in power in Assam for the last 15 years have failed to stop the poaching of rhinos, the BJP campaigned aggressively ahead of the Assembly polls on the issue and assured to put an end to poaching.