ERODE: The mastermind behind a poaching gang was arrested from Karnataka by the Tamil Nadu forest department on Sunday in connection with the killing of an 18-year-old male elephant and poaching of its tusks at Thalavadi in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) of Erode district. The accused has been identified as C Bomman (53), a Karnataka native.
As per sources, on April 22, frontline staff of the department while conducting their regular patrol in Gumtapuram forest located near Thalavadi under STR, found an elephant carcass in decomposed state and tusks missing. During the investigation, veterinarians identified that it was an 18-year-old tusker.
Following this, a case was registered at the Thalavadi forest range office and a special team headed by ranger S Sathish under the supervision of Hasanur DFO K Sudhakar was formed.
As the forest area is located on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border and some poaching gangs from Karnataka intrude into Thalavadi frequently, they found out that Bomman was involved in the incident and arrested him on Sunday.
A forest officer said, “Similar cases against Bomman are pending in both states. We arrested him with the help of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka police. The elephant’s tusks were recovered from him. We are looking for four more people involved in the incident.”
Another officer said, “The tusker was shot by the gang. Hence, we are looking for the country-made gun that was used to kill the animal.”