Sleuths of the Special Task Force claimed to have made further success to lay a trap on two more smugglers engaged in poaching of wildlife animals which mostly declared as endanger species. The trap was made in Philibhit on Saturday morning.
Additional SP of STF, Dr Arvind Chaturvedi, who led the operation claimed that they were continuously working on organised gangs who were killing endanger species
particularly tigers and were latter selling their skins and other parts. He claimed that mostly the smugglers crossed the border and dispose off the skin and other items in Nepal as they get very good price there than what they received in India.
Dr Arvind Chaturvedi said that during the above operations they were contacted by the officials of Forest Department of Haripur Range of Philibhit who sought their help in
nabbing the smugglers who killed a tiger on May 24 last year in the said range and also on the next day i.e May 25 last year. Forest Officials already registered two separate
cases regarding the above killing of tigers Case crime no- 14/2012 and 15/2012.
Dr Arvind further said that during probe they learnt that the above forest is situated on the banks of Sharda river and the poachers usually hunt for endangers species mainly tigers there. He also developed some inputs following which the STF team made a breakthrough in identifying that the poaching was done by Mustaq Shikari, a resident of
Nahrosa hamlet of Hazara in Philibhit and Badshah, hailing from Kabirganj locality of the same area in Philibhit. He said that later they traced the location about above
criminals through electronic surveillance and finally on Saturday they arrested both Kabirganj area of Hazara. They duo during interrogation confessed of the killing of above two tigers in the jungles of Haripur. They revealed that beside jungles of Haripur, they and their gang members were also engaged in poaching in Dudwa National Park in
lakhimpur Kheri. They mostly trapped the animals either by poisoning them or putting a ring around their neck when they animals arrived to quench their thirst. Further interrogations are on with the criminals in this regard. Dr Arvind added that very soon some more cohorts of the other criminals will be arrested by them.