Sonali Ghosh, the director of KNP, received information regarding the incident on Tuesday evening. Swiftly, an operation was launched to apprehend the suspected poachers.
Four individuals suspected of poaching were apprehended in Assam’s Golaghat district on charges of fatally shooting an endangered hog deer within Kaziranga National Park (KNP), according to officials familiar with the situation.
Officials from the Kaziranga forest department reported that on Tuesday, January 2nd, a hog deer was poached, and its carcass was subsequently discovered in Bokakhat within the Golaghat district.
The Director of KNP, Sonali Ghosh, reported receiving critical information about an incident involving suspected poachers on Tuesday evening. She stated that an immediate operation was launched to apprehend the individuals involved.
“Upon receiving this crucial information, a 10-member investigative team promptly arrived at the scene and recovered the carcass. A specially trained departmental sniffer dog successfully traced the escape route of the poachers,” Ghosh stated.
The arrested individuals, identified as Piyoli Kheriya, Maina Munda, Chaban Gorh, and Bhula Uriya, all residents of Kheriya village in Golaghat’s Bokakhat Police Station area, were linked to the crime.
Ghosh highlighted that the prime accused, Piyoli Kheriya, was initially apprehended and during interrogation, disclosed the identities of others involved. Kheriya confessed to direct involvement in the hog deer poaching.
“In an attempt to evade capture, the suspected poachers fled through dense foliage resembling forest cover, leading towards Diflu Tea Estate,” she explained.
The Hog Deer, classified as a Schedule-I endangered species under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and amended Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, carries severe legal consequences. “The act of killing a Hog Deer holds the same legal weight as killing a tiger, leading to charges filed against these poachers under appropriate sections,” Ghosh emphasized.
Kheriya was presented in court on Wednesday and remanded to the custody of the forest department. The remaining three poachers are also scheduled for court appearances soon, as per officials.
During the operation, forest officials discovered items allegedly used for catching and killing the hog deer, including an iron spear, bamboo sticks, and other related materials.
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