Poacher duo trips on forest trap

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The Telegraph, Calcutta, Thursday, 27 October, 2005

 

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051027/asp/siliguri/story_5402271.asp

 

Poacher duo trips on forest trap

 

OUR CORRESPONDENT

 

Nilpara (Alipurduar), Oct. 26: Two persons were arrested after

officials of the Cooch Behar forest division busted a cross-border

animal parts smuggling racket last night.

 

The kingpin of the racket, Md Idris Ansari, was among the arrested.

 

The skin of a sub-adult leopard, the antler of a sambar deer and the

molar teeth of an elephant, along with a country-made gun, a set of

bow and arrow and poison were seized from the duo. The worth of the

catch was pegged at Rs 1.5 lakh by Manindra Biswas, the divisional

forest officer of Cooch Behar forest division. Biswas was speaking

to newspersons at the Nilpara range office this morning.

 

Under the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act 1972, leopards and

sambar deer are Schedule-I animals (that is, they are listed as

endangered species). Molar teeth of elephants, on the other hand,

are highly valuable in the foreign market for its medicinal use.

 

Assistant wildlife warden of Jaldapara Anjan Guha had led the team

of forest staff that caught up with Idris on Torsha Bridge last

evening.

 

Pretending to be buyers of animal parts, the team asked Idris to

show them his ware and arrested him as soon as he took out the

leopard hide from the basket of his motorcycle.

 

The forest team had been working on a tip-off. " We had information

that Idris would go to Jaigaon to hand over the skin to a person in

Bhutan, " said Biswas.

 

Later, officials came to know about another member of the gang,

Goutam Barman, while interrogating Idris. They immediately raided

Goutam's residence in the Hatipota area and seized the other goods.

 

Officials also found remains of animals in Goutam's house, which

indicated that the leopard and the other animals were killed there

recently. The evidence corroborates the forest officials' claim that

the gang is involved in poaching as well.

 

The arrests come just before the Wildlife Week, to be observed from

October 30 to November 5.

 

Forest officials have interrogated the duo and found out that the

gang comprises at least 12 poachers — including two women — and at

present they have in their possession the tusk of an adult

elephant. " We have elicited other valuable information from Idris

and Goutam that cannot be disclosed at the moment for the sake of

investigation, " said Biswas.

 

" On August 11, we arrested three persons involved in smuggling of

animal parts and got the Idris's name from them, " said

Biswas. " Idris was involved in poaching and smuggling animal parts

mainly to Bhutan via Jaigaon from different parts of the Dooars

region. "

 

Biswas added that forest officials had been in search of Idris for a

long time. " We will also seize the ivory from the other gang

members, " he said.