Assam: Illegal tiger trade syndicate busted, former field officer of WPSI arrested

GUWAHATI: The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), an apex body constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to combat organised wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trade, issued a red alert to all Tiger reserves and tiger-bearing areas to intensify patrolling and sanitise all above areas from hunting gangs.

On June 28, 2023, a tiger's skin and bones were seized, and five offenders were arrested at Guwahati by Assam Forest and police officials. The case was transferred by the Assam Forest Department to the WCCB for investigation as it showed the involvement of multiple states. The WCCB constituted an SIT to investigate the Guwahati tiger skin and bone seizure case. The preliminary interrogation of the offenders showed that the tiger body parts seized belonged to the Gadchiroli area in Maharashtra. These initial interrogation findings were shared by the WCCB with Maharashtra Forest Department officials. Based on WCCB input, 10 members of a hunting gang belonging to the Bawariya community were arrested in the Gadchiroli area. Leg-hold traps and tiger body parts were also recovered from them. One of the offenders wanted in the Guwahati seizure case was also arrested from the Gadchiroli area based on the interrogation of the offender arrested in Guwahati and Gadchiroli.

It was found that a person named Mr. Mishram Jakhad in Dwarika controls and dictates to the tiger. Poaching and the illegal trade of tiger body parts He not only sponsors the Tiger Illegal Trade Syndicate but also Exploits huge amounts of money from the poachers and smugglers and blackmails them. On July 31, 2023, the WCCB SIT officials along with the Gadchiroli team raided the suspects premises. Mishram Jhakad was arrested along with cash of Rs. 14.80 Lac suspected to be connected to the illegal trade in tiger parts. During the search, an ID card was recovered from Jakhad, showing that he has worked as a field officer for WPSI (Wildlife Protection Society of India). He has confessed that he has worked in the wildlife wing of the forest department of the NCT Delhi Government. (PIB)

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