Assam: Cops Nab Poachers, Recover Animal Body Parts In Joint Op With Wildlife Crime Control Bureau
The STF and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) launched a joint operation across the Jakhalabandha and Kaliabor regions to nab the poachers.
The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam Police arrested five suspected poachers from Nagaon’s Jakhalabandha and Kaliabor areas on Tuesday and seized a significant quantity of animal parts from them.
Based on intelligence inputs, the STF and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) launched a joint operation across the Jakhalabandha and Kaliabor regions to nab the poachers. The operation resulted in the arrest of the five suspects. The seized animal parts encompass a range of items, including 12 ivory pieces, two tiger canine teeth, 15 rhino hooves, one deer antler, and around 1 kilogram of pangolin scales.
The accused have been identified as Gaffar Qureshi (24), Wakil Qureshi (60), Safiqul Islam (39), Ujjal Bharali (20), and Aditya Sarma (23). Gaffar, Wakil, and Safiqul are residents of Jakhalabandha, while Bharali hails from Rowta in Udalguri district, and Sarma is from Guwahati.
The arrested individuals and the confiscated items were subsequently handed over to the Jakhalabandha police for further legal proceedings. A case related to the incident has been registered at the Jakhalabandha police station, and the accused have been charged under sections 9/39/44/48(A)/49(B)/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Speaking to ABP Live, Pranab Pegu, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the STF, stated, “A joint team of STF and WCCB personnel from Guwahati conducted raids at separate locations in Jakhalabandha and Kaliabor. During these operations, we apprehended five individuals and seized the illicit animal parts. The investigation is ongoing, including the interrogation of the accused.”
Wildlife activist Mubina Akhtar conveyed concerns about the ongoing poaching issue in Assam's national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, suggesting that despite official claims to the contrary, such activities persist. Akhtar called for more substantial efforts to address the problem.“Poaching has been going on unabated in the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries of Assam. Several seizures of animal body parts and arrests of wildlife traffickers have been made by law enforcement agencies at different locations in the state recently. If there is no poaching, where are these animal parts coming from?”
“The Assam forest department is not taking necessary steps to curb the menace of poaching. Forest staff is not sufficient in the Manas National Park but the Assam government has not taken steps to fill up these vacancies. Poaching in Assam was an issue during the assembly and general elections but after coming to power, the BJP-led government has not taken the matter seriously,” Akhtar alleged.
“Tuesday’s seizure of animal body parts at Jakhalabandha indicates that the poaching must have taken place in the Kaziranga National Park as it is located nearby to the place of seizure. An international racket of wildlife traffickers is active in the state yet no proper monitoring is being done by the authorities. The Assam government should take up the matter seriously and initiate measures to curb poaching and wildlife trafficking cases, Akhtar added.”
On June 29 this year, the Azara police in the state’s Kamrup district arrested four suspected wildlife traffickers along with tiger bones and skin. The accused were allegedly part of an interstate wildlife smuggling racket and involved in the poaching of a tiger at Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli. During preliminary investigation, the accused revealed that they were transporting the tiger parts to Meghalaya to be delivered to another location.
After interrogation of the accused, a mother-son duo, who were part of the racket, was arrested from Assam’s West Karbi Anglong district and Meghalaya’s Shillong. Approximately 7.6 grams of pangolin scales were recovered from the possession of one of the accused.
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