Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Poachers killed a tiger through electrocution in Biohari circle of Sanjay Tiger Reserve in Sidhi. Later they chopped the body parts of the feline and hid them in a field and a nearby pond.
Forest officials arrested two of the accused and recovered the body parts of the big cat. The third accused is on the run.
Sanjay Tiger Reserve officials said that on November 8, the body parts of a wild animal were found in a field in Bochro village of Biohari circle. A case was registered and a hunt was launched to nab the accused. The help of the Special Tiger Force was also taken in this regard.
During the intensive search operation, accused Ambrish Loni and Lallu Kol were arrested on Saturday. Their statements were recorded and they were taken to the site for verification.
They had laid an electric trap to catch wild animals in Bochro revenue area on November 1. At 1.30 AM, a tiger fell victim to the electric trap and died.
Afterwards, the accused chopped the body parts of the tiger and hid some of them in a field located in Bochro. The remaining were hidden in the water of a local pond. Soon after this, the accused removed the trap and threw it into the bushes before fleeing.
The two accused were presented in Biohari court which sent them in judicial custody.
A forest official of Sanjay Tiger Reserve, pleading anonymity, said that three people were involved in the crime and two were arrested. The third accused was absconding.
He said the accused had chopped the carcass of the tiger, aged around 3 to 4 years, into four pieces. Two parts were hidden in the field, one in the local pond and the fourth piece was eaten by wild animals.
The accused had laid an electric trap to catch wild boars and the tiger became a victim. The accused got perturbed on seeing that the tiger had died and disposed of the carcass by cutting it into pieces. The third absconding accused is in possession of the long knife used to cut the tiger into pieces and hunt is on to nab him. The teeth and nails of the tiger were found intact, he said.
