BHUBANESWAR/BARIPADA : The Forest department on Monday arrested nine persons in connection with recovery of a melanistic tiger hide from Udala range of Baripada division. The prime suspect, however, is still at large, said officials of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).
The skin of the melanistic tiger was recovered from two accused Nikunjna Bihari Sethi (38) and Biju Rana (34) near Pariakuli village of Kuliana within Baripada division on Sunday.
Seven others, Dambarudhar Mohanta (26) of Harishchandrapur village under Baripada Sadar police limits, Santanu Kumar Mohanta (31) and Ajit Kumar Rana (37) of Sarat village under Sarat police limits, Bikarttan Mohanta (24) of Sridamchandrapur under Udala police limits, Budhiram Singh (30) of Ambikadeipur village, Alin Naik (24) of Kasikundal village and Prakash Biswal (26) of Haltikot village under Udala police limits, have been arrested after their names came out during interrogation of the two accused.
The accused have been booked under relevant provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Baripada. Four others, including the main poacher, are still at large, STR officials said.
A forest team of Baripada division had carried out the raid in Kuliana area on the basis of input from ground intelligence and joint task force (JTF), and apprehended Sethi and Rana while they were drying the skin in open near Pariakuli village at around 10 am on Sunday.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the tiger, a one-and-half year sub-adult male, was poached about a month ago. The tiger is stated to have succumbed to gun shots.
A manhunt has been launched to apprehend the remaining four accused including the main poacher, said regional chief conservator of forests (RCCF)and STR field director Prakash Chand Gogineni.
Gogineni said initial investigation revealed that the poacher killed the melanistic tiger in a fringe area of the tiger reserve. It was first brought from the Dukura area and later shifted to Kuliana for sale. More in this regard will be probed, he said.
Baripada DFO Gobinda Chandra Biswal said apart from the tiger skin, they have also recovered four whiskers of the big cat from the possession of the accused. The skin sample of the tiger will be sent for examination to Wildlife Institute of India (WII),Dehradun to verify its sex, age and gather other details.