Investigation into the killing of a lone tusker in Boudh’s Mundeswar forests has brought to fore chilling facts about how two poacher groups from different regions of the State colluded to bring down the jumbo for ivory trade.
The Wildlife Crime Cell of Crime Branch, which has taken into custody heads of these two groups, has found that hunters operating in Phulbani-Bhanjanagar ranges got in touch with the gang from Athagarh for trade of the tusks which the former had removed after killing the jumbo last Tuesday.
Manoranjan Pradhan and Gopal Nayak are now on five-day remand of the CB. Pradhan led the Purunakatak-Harbhanga gang while Nayak is from Athagarh-Narasinghpur, a region infamous for elephant poaching.
The group had planned to sell the tusks, weighing a little over 19 kg, to a local smuggler who, in turn, would have transported it to Kolkata where it would have moved to the international market. Initial price fixed for the local sale was about `25,000 per kg which meant whole consignment was worth about `5 lakh. In the international market, the figure would have jumped multifold.
Sources said the Wildlife Crime Cell has gathered certain clues about the ‘local person’ who was approached for buying the ivory from the poachers.
According to Special DG (Crime) Bijay Sharma, the poaching incident has pointed at how two different gangs worked in coordination for the ivory trade. “From the modus operandi, we have strong suspicion that the tusker was a prime target and the brutality of the killing is a pointer to the fact that it was hunted down in a methodical manner,” he told this paper. Pradhan, who is accused in about four offences, had apparently been contacted by Nayak for the task. Nayak is facing five cases of elephant poaching, two of which were registered by the CB. In both cases, Sharma said chargesheet has been submitted against him.
The CB suspects that Nayak may have been working at the behest of Izak Miyan, another notorious poacher from Athagarh-Narasinghpur area. He was behind the bars and was released on bail only two to three months back.
The preparation with which the nine-member poacher gang killed the 40-year-old elephant indicated that they had preplanned the whole task. It is yet to be ascertained why the jumbo was limping though there is a strong probability that it was shot at.
Illegal trade
Hunters operating in Phulbani-Bhanjanagar ranges got in touch with the gang from Athagarh for trade of the tusks which the former had removed after killing the jumbo
Wildlife Crime Cell has gathered certain clues about the ‘local person’ who was approached for buying the ivory from the poachers
Preparation with which the poacher gang killed the 40-year-old elephant indicated that they had preplanned the whole task