Officials of the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) were today orced to free a youth they had detained yesterday for “illegal…
Buxa Tiger Reserve
Officials of the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) were today orced to free a youth they had detained yesterday for “illegal gathering in the forest with ill motives.” Backed by local Trinamul Congress leaders, around 100
villagers living in the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) Forest today staged a demonstration at the West Damanpur Range Office, demanding unconditional release of a forest villager, Akhay Rava, 24.
“Akhay Rava is an innocent youth. He works in Kerala. He was not in the group of poachers who illegally entered the forest. That is why we demand his release,” said the president of the local Gram Panchayat committee of the Trinamul Congress, Albert Sangma, who led the demonstration. Notably, forest staffs had apprehended Rava from his house at Uttar Poro forest village near the Poro forest where the authorities chased away a group of 10 to 12 wildlife poachers on Tuesday.
Forest officials suspected Rava was a member of the same group of poachers who fled. Forest staffers also recovered a country-made gun, iron nets and some other materials, which are used to kill or catch animals, from Rava’s house yesterday. “We released the youth, as after interrogation, we found that he did not enter the forest, though his father is directly involved in the case,” said the Deputy Field Director of the BTR, Kalyan Rai. “The court has issued an arrest warrant against the father of the youth. We will arrest him as soon as we find him,” he added.
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Acting on a tip-off, forest staffers chased the poachers in the Poro forest under the West Damanpur Range of the West Division of the BTR on Tuesday. Forest sources had claimed that they had to fire two rounds of bullets in the air to chase away the criminals. Forest officials also recovered a country-made gun, cartridge, a bow and arrows, some kitchen utensils and winter garments, which probabbly belonged to the poachers. BTR sniffer dog ‘Karim’ had been pressed into service to track down the criminals.
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